The Merchant of Venice live in a ghetto protected by Christian guards. Shakespeare's play may be seen as a continuation of this tradition. The title page of the Quarto indicates that the play was sometimes known as "The Jew of Venice" in its day, which suggests that it was seen as similar to Marlowe's "The Jew of Malta". One interpretation of the play's structure is that Shakespeare meant to contrast the mercy of the main Christian characters with the vengefulness of a Jew, who lacks the religious grace to comprehend mercy. Similarly, it is possible that Shakespeare meant Shylock's forced conversion to Christianity to
Shakespeare by the Sea (Australia) Shakespeare by the Sea (Australia) Shakespeare by the Sea was a summer outdoor event held at Balmoral Beach in Sydney's northern suburbs, using a band rotunda as a backdrop, that ran in summer (January to early March) for twenty-five seasons, from 1987 to 2011. The event was started in 1987 by David MacSwan, pre-dating other similarly named events such as Shakespeare by the Sea, Halifax, which was founded in 1994. Each season featured two plays, mostly from Shakespeare's canon including, "Henry IV" (parts 1 and 2), "Romeo and Juliet", "King Lear", "The Merchant of Venice", "The Two Gentlemen of Verona",