“Each author from a previous takes a theme and to the next bequeaths a mewling babe
with pray’rs its cries fall not on ears unheard. Now hear our story stripped of comedy.
A new path taken, tragedy appears. Plot borrowed from another play in steals,
o’ertakes our heroes and with sad death marks the consequence of greed.”
In Shakespeare’s play Antonio’s life is threatened when Shylock the moneylender demands the pound of flesh due to him. Only the last-minute intervention by Portia, disguised as a young man, saves the merchant when she points out that the contract with Shylock does not allow any blood to be spilt. But what would happen if Portia were prevented by plague from travelling to Venice?
Martin Foreman’s adaptation strips the comedy from this classic drama to present a tragedy that focuses on Antonio, his young protegé Bassanio and the anti-semitism that underlies the story.
A rehearsed reading of Martin Foreman’s A Pound of Flesh was held in April 2024 for theatre industry professionals.
Feedback from that event is being incorporated in a version of the play planned for 2025.