Shylock’s Ghost

Synopsis: Documentary. Alan Yentob travels to the ghetto in Venice with novelist Howard Jacobson as he embarks on a retelling of The Merchant of Venice. Through a series of interviews, they examine the charge of anti-Semitism against Shakespeare, whose character Shylock remains one of the most divisive fictional Jews in history. How did the moneylender from Venice become such a useful propaganda tool in Nazi Germany? And how much of a liberty will Jacobson be taking when he uproots the action to modern-day Alderley Edge, and audaciously reinterprets the infamous ‘pound of flesh’?
Series: Imagine...
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Television
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: anti-Semitism; Shylock

Director: Colette Camden
Contributor: Alan Yentob; Anthony Julius; Antony Sher; Howard Jacobson; Stephen Greenblatt