The Merchant of Venice - Revision history

Darryl: /* 20th Century */

2026-06-19T16:24:51Z

20th Century

Darryl: /* Sources */

2026-06-19T16:23:52Z

Sources

Darryl: /* 20th Century */

2026-05-06T15:43:50Z

20th Century

Darryl: /* 19th Century */

2026-04-26T16:30:19Z

19th Century

Darryl: /* 20th Century */

2026-04-26T16:15:03Z

20th Century

Darryl: /* 20th Century */

2026-04-26T16:02:46Z

20th Century

Darryl at 15:00, 26 April 2026

2026-04-26T15:00:53Z

Darryl: /* Sources */

2026-04-26T13:52:21Z

Sources

Darryl: /* 20th Century */

2026-04-26T13:51:55Z

20th Century

Darryl: /* South African filmed versions */

2026-03-10T10:39:34Z

South African filmed versions

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:24, 19 June 2026
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	1904: Performed by [[Leonard Rayne]] and his company as part of his touring repertoire, ''inter alia'' playing at the [[Opera House]], Cape Town in the second half of the year.		1904: Performed by [[Leonard Rayne]] and his company as part of his touring repertoire, ''inter alia'' playing at the [[Opera House]], Cape Town in the second half of the year.
		+
		+	1905: Presented by [[Leonard Rayne]] and his company in August at [[His Majesty's Theatre]] in, Johannesburg and as part of his touring repertoire.

	1907: Presented by [[Leonard Rayne]] as part of his "Grand Shakespeare Festival" mounted at [[His Majesty's]] in April 1907.		1907: Presented by [[Leonard Rayne]] as part of his "Grand Shakespeare Festival" mounted at [[His Majesty's]] in April 1907.

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:23, 19 June 2026
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	https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/Criticism/shakespearein/sa7/index.html		https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/Criticism/shakespearein/sa7/index.html
		+
		+	[[Walter Greyvenstein\|Greyvenstein, Walter]] 1988. ''The history and development of children's theatre in English in South Africa''. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Johannesburg: [[Rand Afrikaans University]].

	Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]		Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:43, 6 May 2026
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	1955: Produced in [[Afrikaans]] (''[[Die Koopman van Venesië]]'', D.F. Malherbe translation) by the [[University of Cape Town]]'s Speech and Drama Department with [[K.A.T.]] and [[B.A.T.]], directed by [[Fred Engelen]] and opening at the [[Little Theatre]] in Cape Town in late September, with [[Pieter Bredenkamp]], [[Louw Verwey]], [[Hermien Dommisse]] (Portia), [[Paul Malherbe]], [[Fred le Roux]], [[Kobus van der Colff]] as Antonio, [[Pietro Nolte]] and [[Chris van den Berg]]. Costume designs by [[Mavis Taylor]] (designs also used in later productions in Antwerp.) This production was subsequently staged in Stellenbosch.		1955: Produced in [[Afrikaans]] (''[[Die Koopman van Venesië]]'', D.F. Malherbe translation) by the [[University of Cape Town]]'s Speech and Drama Department with [[K.A.T.]] and [[B.A.T.]], directed by [[Fred Engelen]] and opening at the [[Little Theatre]] in Cape Town in late September, with [[Pieter Bredenkamp]], [[Louw Verwey]], [[Hermien Dommisse]] (Portia), [[Paul Malherbe]], [[Fred le Roux]], [[Kobus van der Colff]] as Antonio, [[Pietro Nolte]] and [[Chris van den Berg]]. Costume designs by [[Mavis Taylor]] (designs also used in later productions in Antwerp.) This production was subsequently staged in Stellenbosch.
		+
		+	1957: [[The Children's Theatre]] staged an open-air production of ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' at the Zoo Lake in the summer of 1957. [[Cecil Williams]] directed this play which starred [[Rory MacDermot]] as Shylock and [[Valerie Philip]] as Portia. The set was designed by [[Len Grosset]], and [[Louis Jacobson]] did costumes. They did another performance of this play at the [[Donaldson Orlando Community Centre]] for black audiences as their application for black audiences to attend was rejected by the City Council.

	1963: Performed at [[Maynardville]] starring [[Helen Bourne]], [[Pietro Nolte]], [[Leslie French]] ("Shylock"), [[Cecilia Sonnenberg]] ("Portia"), [[John Ramsdale]] ("Launcelot Gobbo"), and others. Directed by [[Leslie French]].		1963: Performed at [[Maynardville]] starring [[Helen Bourne]], [[Pietro Nolte]], [[Leslie French]] ("Shylock"), [[Cecilia Sonnenberg]] ("Portia"), [[John Ramsdale]] ("Launcelot Gobbo"), and others. Directed by [[Leslie French]].

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:30, 26 April 2026
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	Circa 1887: One of the first plays ever staged in Johannesburg. Assumedly it was performed in [[St Mary's Church Hall]], Johannesburg's first Church. Performed by an amateur group including Mrs [[D Rintoul]], Mrs [[Francis van Eyssen]], both nee Mostert, [[Burt Andrews]], [[David Rintoul]], [[A M Mostert]], [[P J Mostert]], [[H J Humphreys]], [[Victor Crowder]] and [[Alfred Andrews]].		Circa 1887: One of the first plays ever staged in Johannesburg. Assumedly it was performed in [[St Mary's Church Hall]], Johannesburg's first Church. Performed by an amateur group including Mrs [[D Rintoul]], Mrs [[Francis van Eyssen]], both nee Mostert, [[Burt Andrews]], [[David Rintoul]], [[A M Mostert]], [[P J Mostert]], [[H J Humphreys]], [[Victor Crowder]] and [[Alfred Andrews]].
		+
		+	1891-2: Performed by the [[Geneviève Ward Company]] during a nine months' tour of South Africa, under the auspices of [[Luscombe Searelle]], featuring [[Geneviève Ward]] and [[W.H. Vernon]] in the leading roles.

	1895-6: Performed by the [[Holloway Theatre Company]], under the auspices of the [[Wheeler Theatre Company]] theatre company as part of a season of plays which opened in the [[Standard Theatre]], Johannesburg on the 26th December with ''[[Othello]]''. The company was composed of [[William J. Holloway]], [[Leonard Rayne]], [[Gerald Lawrence]], [[Amy Grace]], [[John Nesbitt]], [[William Haviland]] and [[Amy Coleridge]]. The company also played in the Opera House in Cape Town for a season that opened in May 1896.		1895-6: Performed by the [[Holloway Theatre Company]], under the auspices of the [[Wheeler Theatre Company]] theatre company as part of a season of plays which opened in the [[Standard Theatre]], Johannesburg on the 26th December with ''[[Othello]]''. The company was composed of [[William J. Holloway]], [[Leonard Rayne]], [[Gerald Lawrence]], [[Amy Grace]], [[John Nesbitt]], [[William Haviland]] and [[Amy Coleridge]]. The company also played in the Opera House in Cape Town for a season that opened in May 1896.

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:15, 26 April 2026
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	1904: Performed by [[Leonard Rayne]] and his company as part of his touring repertoire, ''inter alia'' playing at the [[Opera House]], Cape Town in the second half of the year.		1904: Performed by [[Leonard Rayne]] and his company as part of his touring repertoire, ''inter alia'' playing at the [[Opera House]], Cape Town in the second half of the year.
		+
		+	1907: Presented by [[Leonard Rayne]] as part of his "Grand Shakespeare Festival" mounted at [[His Majesty's]] in April 1907.

	1916: ''The Merchant of Venice'' was presented at the [[Palladium Theatre]] with music especially composed by [[David Foote]] as part of the Johannesburg celebrations of Shakespeare's Tercentenary.		1916: ''The Merchant of Venice'' was presented at the [[Palladium Theatre]] with music especially composed by [[David Foote]] as part of the Johannesburg celebrations of Shakespeare's Tercentenary.

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:02, 26 April 2026
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	1904: Performed by [[Leonard Rayne]] and his company as part of his touring repertoire, ''inter alia'' playing at the [[Opera House]], Cape Town in the second half of the year.		1904: Performed by [[Leonard Rayne]] and his company as part of his touring repertoire, ''inter alia'' playing at the [[Opera House]], Cape Town in the second half of the year.
		+
		+	1916: ''The Merchant of Venice'' was presented at the [[Palladium Theatre]] with music especially composed by [[David Foote]] as part of the Johannesburg celebrations of Shakespeare's Tercentenary.

	1920: A significant production of this Shakespeare play was staged by the [[Cape Town Repertory Theatre Society]] as its début opened on 6 August 1920 in the [[Railway Institute Hall]] in Cape Town. The cast included most of the top amateur actors then active, and the design by [[S.J. Wray]] was the first to introduce the revolutionary ideas of English modernist theatre practitioner Edward Gordon Craig [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gordon_Craig] to South Africa. In all, only eight performances were given in Cape Town and surrounds, but the production was a hit with both public and critics and managed to turn a tidy profit of £100. The first professional performance was apparently ***.		1920: A significant production of this Shakespeare play was staged by the [[Cape Town Repertory Theatre Society]] as its début opened on 6 August 1920 in the [[Railway Institute Hall]] in Cape Town. The cast included most of the top amateur actors then active, and the design by [[S.J. Wray]] was the first to introduce the revolutionary ideas of English modernist theatre practitioner Edward Gordon Craig [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gordon_Craig] to South Africa. In all, only eight performances were given in Cape Town and surrounds, but the production was a hit with both public and critics and managed to turn a tidy profit of £100. The first professional performance was apparently ***.

@@ Line 111: / Line 111: @@
 : A significant production of this Shakespeare play was staged by the [[Cape Town Repertory Theatre Society]] as its début opened on 6 August 1920 in the [[Railway Institute Hall]] in Cape Town. The cast included most of the top amateur actors then active, and the design by [[S.J. Wray]] was the first to introduce the revolutionary ideas of English modernist theatre practitioner Edward Gordon Craig [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gordon_Craig] to South Africa. In all, only eight performances were given in Cape Town and surrounds, but the production was a hit with both public and critics and managed to turn a tidy profit of £100. The first professional performance was apparently ***.
-: [[Johannesburg Reps]], [[Wilfred Patley]] as Shylock.
+: Presented by [[Johannesburg Reps]] at the [[Standard Theatre]] with [[Wilfred Patley]] as Shylock.
 : A performance of a few scenes from ''The Merchant of Venice'' was given at the [[Diocesan Teachers Training College]] in Pietersburg (now Polokwane).

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:52, 26 April 2026
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	https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6424312/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_accord_1_cdt_t_10		https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6424312/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_accord_1_cdt_t_10
		+
		+	https://internetshakespeare.uvic.ca/Library/Criticism/shakespearein/sa7/index.html

	Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]		Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:51, 26 April 2026
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	1928: [[Johannesburg Reps]], [[Wilfred Patley]] as Shylock.		1928: [[Johannesburg Reps]], [[Wilfred Patley]] as Shylock.
		+
		+	1930: A performance of a few scenes from ''The Merchant of Venice'' was given at the [[Diocesan Teachers Training College]] in Pietersburg (now Polokwane).

	1947: Presented by the [[University of Cape Town]]'s Speech and Drama department at the [[Little Theatre]], directed by [[Rosalie van der Gucht]].		1947: Presented by the [[University of Cape Town]]'s Speech and Drama department at the [[Little Theatre]], directed by [[Rosalie van der Gucht]].

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 =South African filmed versions=
-A filmed version of the play was broadcast in 1987, directed by [[Ken Leach]], produced by [[Neale Ferguson]], [[Roy Sargeant]] and [[Murray Steyn]].
+A filmed version of the play was broadcast on television in 1987, directed by [[Ken Leach]], produced by [[Neale Ferguson]], [[Roy Sargeant]] and [[Murray Steyn]].
 The cast included: [[Richard Haines]] (Shylock), [[Sandra Duncan]] (Portia), [[John Carson]] (Antonio), [[Andrew Buckland]] (Bassanio), [[Michael Richard]] (Gratiano), [[Lynita Crofford]] (Nerissa), [[Blaise Koch]] (Solanio), [[Jeremy Crutchley]] (Salerio), [[Neil McCarthy]] (Lorenzo), [[Michele Burgers]] (Jessica), [[John Lesley]] (Old Gobbo), [[Paul Ditchfield]] (Launcelot), [[Bill Curry]] (Morocco), [[Frantz Dobrowsky]] (Arragon), [[Neville Thomas]] (Duke), [[Joseph Ribeiro]] (Tubal), [[Alan Swerdlow]] (Balthasar), [[Len Sparrowhawk]] (Servant to Antonio), [[Andrew Wilson]] (Servant to Bassanio), [[Nick Collis]] (Servant to Bassanio).