 In a 1987 production of the play directed by Bill Alexander, portrayed a very romantic relationship between Bassanio and Antonio in which they kiss at the end of scene I.At the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1997, a slight change is made to the character of Bassanio in which he spills out gold coins at the end of the trial scene which remain there for the entirety of the play reminding the audience of the underlying motivations of wealth.An early production of "The Merchant of Venice" was made in 1914 with Douglas Gerrard as Bassanio.