Book Description

Examines the portrayal of the Jew in British drama, as well as Jewish dramatic works and Jewish actors who were prominent on the Jewish and non-Jewish stage. Discusses, with particular emphasis, antisemitic depictions of the Jew from the Middle Ages to the present, including the passion plays, Marlowe's "The Jew of Malta", Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", the figures of Judas and of the Wandering Jew, Richard Cumberland's "The Jew" as an attempt to counter the antisemitic depictions (produced in 1794), and several works of the 19th century. The 19th century saw the development of sympathetic depictions of Jews as well, and of a thriving Jewish theater (both in English and Yiddish).