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Synopsis
In Belmont: Portia, a wealthy heiress, has been left three caskets in her father's will - one of gold, one of silver, and one of lead. Inside one casket is her portrait, and Portia is obliged to marry the man who chooses correctly. Suitors come from the four corners of the world to win her hand.
In Venice: Bassanio, a young man about town, is determined to woo Portia for himself. In order to finance his expedition, he needs three thousand ducats - a huge amount of money. He asks Antonio, a rich merchant who loves him, to lend him the money.
Antonio, however, is temporarily short of funds because his fortune is tied up in merchandise at sea and he is forced to borrow the ducats from Shylock, a wealthy Jewish moneylender. Antonio and Shylock dislike each other: Antonio because he despises the practice of usury and also because Shylock is a Jew, and Shylock because Antonio lends out money without charge, which Shylock feels damages his own business. However, on this occasion, Shylock agrees to lend the money without interest, but he proposes a strange forfeit - a pound of Antonio's flesh - if he defaults on the loan.
Bassanio goes to Belmont and succeeds in choosing the right casket and winning his bride. Portia gives him a ring which he swears never to part with. Her maid, Nerissa, is similarly courted by Gratiano and gives him her ring.
Shylock's daughter Jessica elopes with her lover, the Christian Lorenzo, and steals her father's money and jewels.
News comes that Antonio's fortunes are lost at sea. Shylock, distraught at the loss of his daughter and his ducats, and provoked by constant Jew-baiting from the Christians, seizes on this news and determines to demand payment of the forfeit.
In court, Shylock demands the fulfilment of the bond. Portia and Nerissa, disguised as lawyers, frustrate Shylock's plans and, as a test of constancy, each beg in payment the ring she gave her betrothed. The final unmasking in Belmont, and the restoring of Antonio's fortune, end the play.
© RSC
