From the Royal Shakespeare Company - a modern, definitive edition of Shakespeare's bittersweet comedy of courtship and ethnic tension. With an expert introduction by Sir Jonathan Bate, this unique edition presents a historical overview of The Merchant of Venice in performance, takes a detailed look at specific productions, and recommends film versions. Included in this edition are interviews with two leading directors and two actors - Darko Tresjnak, David Thacker, Anthony Sher and Henry Goodman - providing an illuminating insight into the extraordinary variety of interpretations that are possible. This edition also includes an essay on Shakespeare's career and Elizabethan theatre, and enables the reader to understand the play as it was originally intended - as living theatre to be enjoyed and performed. Ideal for students, theatre-goers, actors and general readers, the RSC Shakespeare editions offer a fresh, accessible and contemporary approach to reading and rediscovering Shakespeare's works for the twenty-first century.