The Christians behave extremely badly. But then Jew-baiting was the norm in Shakespeare’s day. Charles Macklin in 1741 was the first actor to take Shylock seriously. Edmund Kean in 1814 was the first to treat him with compassion. Henry Irving in 1878 was the first to make him tragic. Jonathan Pryce is the latest in a long line of distinguished actors and more sympathetic and low-key than most.
But if Shylock is obdurate, malicious and cruel, it is because he reciprocates the villainy the blatantly anti-Semitic Christians have done to him. The most shocking moment comes at the end of his trial when he has lost not only his lawsuit, but also all his money, his home and his property. It is at this point that the Court insists he should instantly become a convert to Christianity or die.
I once saw a production at the Globe when Shylock was played by a German-Jewish actor and the audience actually roared with laughter. Shakespeare ends the play on a light comedy note to send everybody away happy. Director Jonathan Munby chooses instead to add a coda in which we actually witness Shylock’s forced baptism.