A man-made monster - that's how Michael Harley describes Shylock, who he plays in Stylus Productions' latest offering, William Shakespeare's
The Merchant of Venice.
The veteran actor/director played the role 30 years ago but says his interpretation of the controversial character will be less sympathetic this time.
In the post-Holocaust world, Shylock has often been portrayed as a victim. Shylock, a Jewish money lender, offers a loan to the cash-strapped Bassanio who names his friend Antonio, a merchant, as his guarantor. Embittered by years of persecution, Shylock sees a chance for revenge and instead of charging interest makes Antonio swear to let him cut off a pound of his flesh if he is unable to repay the loan. When Antonio is unable to pay, Bassanio's resourceful fiancee Portia disguises herself as a lawyer and pleads his case with the pitiless Shylock in one of the Bard's most famous speeches ("The quality of mercy is not strained").
For the new production, director Adam Harris emphasises the dark side of the work - the bigotry of the Christians along with Shylock's cruelty - by setting the Venetian scenes in Mussolini's Fascist Italy in the 1930s. The show will feature a cast of 16 including Gus Scott, Edward deRuiter and Louisa Ward.
Harley says any actor playing Shylock must decide "whether he is seeking sympathy because of the abuse he has suffered at the hands of Christians, or if he is an equally racist villain bent on murdering Antonio at all costs."
While the character's famous speech about the humanity of the Jews ("If you prick us, do we not bleed?") is frequently interpreted as a plea for tolerance, Harley sees it as "an outright justification for an absolutely inhuman act, to slice a pound of flesh from a man".
He points out that Shylock shows no affection for his daughter and hates Antonio not only as one of his persecutors but because by issuing loans without interest he is damaging his business.
Nonetheless, it's important to understand that if Shylock is a villain, it's because of the way he has been treated. Hopefully, he says, "the way I'm trying to portray him will make the audience ask, `Why is the man like this?'"
Harley may have been away from the spotlight in recent years, but he remains one of the most dependable stage actors in the city. He began acting at the age of 19 when he joined a drama club "because there was a particular girl who used to go". He fell in love with acting instead of the girl and, at 20, started studying at Birmingham Theatre School.
At the time the celebrated Birmingham Repertory Theatre's leading man was Derek Jacobi, who proved an inspiration. "It was wonderful to be able to watch a man like that playing an extraordinary range of parts," says Harley.
After drama school, Harley completed his theatrical apprenticeship with some of Britain's leading repertory companies. He worked in experimental theatre and performed with luminaries such as Ben Kingsley and Steven Berkoff. His television appearances included the BBC's Play for Today and Doctor Who.
"The Doctor was Tom Baker, who was very tall." Harley says. "When I went for the interview, the director said: `Actually, I was looking for someone bigger than Tom, like one of those big basketball players. But I suppose you'll do'."
Harley adds that he was supposed to be tall because he was playing the Doctor's bodyguard.
He spent three years with London's Bubble Theatre, which specialises in youth work. In 1979, when the British Council invited Bubble's artistic director Glen Walford to set up a similar venture in Hong Kong, she asked Harley to join what was to become the Chung Ying Theatre Company.
"I'd been to Hong Kong a year before on holiday and thought it was wonderful," Harley says. "I was back almost a year to the day to work and loved it so much that I'm still here."
Harley was with Chung Ying when he played Shylock three decades ago. The production didn't use sets, and his sympathetic reading of the character created some problems as the company toured schools. "We had letters from English teachers in schools saying `But I've taught my pupils he's a villain, what am I going to tell them?' [But] there are so many ways of interpreting him," says Harley.
After acting and directing at Chung Ying for several years, Harley went freelance.
He was the theatre reviewer for the South China Morning Post (SEHK: 0583, announcements, news) , then spent years dubbing kung fu films into English, an experience he describes as "a bit soul-destroying", but it paid the rent.
Harley says he "felt a need to get up on stage" when he was younger but now prefers directing and helping less experienced actors.
In 1992 he created his own company, Theatron, presenting modern classics by writers such as Samuel Beckett, Dario Fo and David Mamet.
The productions were successful, but doing everything himself became a strain and Harley eventually let Theatron go dormant, although he now plans to revive it.
In the mid-90s Harley began teaching, first at government schools and then for a private tutorial company.
He says the local theatre scene has changed enormouslyn recent years and the standard of English-language performances has improved. Many trained professionals have moved to Hong Kong to teach because schools are taking drama more seriously.
"There are now a number of excellent actors and actresses here," says Harley. Last June, he directed a sold-out production of Patrick Marber's Closer and next year plans to direct Berkoff's Greek and, hopefully, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.
Harley says he is a lucky man. "I've worked most of my life in the theatre, which I've loved," he says. "And now I'm teaching, which I also love. I've had a wonderful life."
The Merchant of Venice, tomorrow until Nov 15, Shouson Theatre, HK Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai, HK$200 and HK$250. Inquiries: 9127 0420
