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Theatre manager relies on The Merchant of Venice to avert a cash crisis in Keswick

Like any business, the New Theatre in 19th century Keswick had to balance its books. But when an end of season glance at the accounts showed the theatre to be dangerously in the red, the manager came up with a cunning plan to avoid the debt collectors.

A performance was staged of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice – a play about wealth, profit and power – as a benefits night to put him back in the black, accompanied by a plea to the town's audiences to buy tickets.

New Theatre, Keswick Playbill (Credit: The British Library)

The opening message in the playbill, now in the collection of the British Library, contains a desperate message from the proprietor, a Mr King:

Diarist Samuel Johnson (Credit: The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum, Lichfield)
Unfortunately the overheads for the season have been more than the company has earned at the box office

Mr. KING, with the greatest Respect, returns his most grateful Thanks to the Ladies and Gentlemen of Keswick, and its Environs, for their liberal Support and Patronage during the present Season; notwithstanding which, the Expences have considerably exceeded the Receipts, the Manager therefore places his Reliance on the polite and liberal Audience of Keswick to support his BENEFIT NIGHT, which will enable him to clear any Expence on the present Occasion.

Unfortunately the overheads for the season have been more than the company has earned at the box office so he hopes that this benefit night, where he’s chosen a play all about money, wealth and morality, will recoup his losses.

The Shakespeare play is 'The Merchant of Venice' or the 'Jew and the Christian', a play that crops up fairly frequently on the playbills in the British Library’s collection.

But something else catches the eye here, as the playbill contains a kind of commendation from the famous diarist Samuel Johnson, who in 1765 had published his own edition of Shakespeare’s plays.

It is Dr Johnson who praises the 'Immortal Shakespeare' – a sign that by this time (1805 – approaching two centuries after the Bard’s death) - Shakespeare’s reputation had surpassed a host of others.

Inspired by the foremost critic of the age, gradually other writers, reviewers and critics began to follow suit - part of an emerging trend to examine and analyse the dramatist’s work and place it within an educational framework.

Today Johnson is probably also widely known for his quotes. He most famously said "...when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life."

About Shakespeare on Tour

From the moment they were written through to the present day, Shakespeare’s plays have continued to enthral and inspire audiences. They’ve been performed in venues big and small – including inns, private houses and emerging provincial theatres.

BBC English Regions is building a digital picture which tracks some of the many iconic moments across the country as we follow the ‘explosion’ in the performance of The Bard’s plays, from his own lifetime to recent times.

Drawing on fascinating new research from Records of Early English Drama (REED), plus the British Library's extensive collection of playbills, as well as expertise from De Montfort University and the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Shakespeare on Tour is a unique timeline of iconic moments of those performances, starting with his own troupe of actors, to highlights from more recent times. Listen out for stories on Shakespeare’s legacy on your BBC Local Radio station from Monday 21 March, 2016.

You never know - you might find evidence of Shakespeare’s footsteps close to home…

Craig Henderson, BBC English Regions

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Edmund Kean in Merchant of Venice (c) Folger Shakespeare Library

The Merchant of Venice

While today we find the anti-semitism of 'The Merchant of Venice' troubling, a 19th century audience in the small town of Keswick may not have had the same concerns.

There is an on-going debate about whether Shakespeare's play endorsed or challenged anti-semitism

From as far back as the 16th and early 17th centuries, while it may be astounding to us today, the cultural tradition was often to portray Jews as evil, duplicitous and greedy and caricature their appearance with hooked noses and red wigs.

There is an on-going debate about whether Shakespeare's play endorsed or challenged anti-semitism. One interpretation contrasts the Christian characters who show 'mercy' and Shylock who seeks vengeance.

However there was a far more sympathetic portrayal of Shylock emerging, where he was seen as a complex and flawed character and one that is justified in seeking his revenge.

This is thought to be the result of a career defining performance by the actor Edmund Kean in London in 1814 which challenged audience perceptions and turned him into a major actor.

Shakespeare on Tour: Around Cumbria

Shakespeare on Tour: Around the country