I te tau 1945 i whakamāoritia te whakaari o Merchant of Venice na Wiremu Taiahaharuru e Tākuta Pei Te Hurinui Jones. I te tau 1990 i tōhungia tēnei whakaari e Don Selwyn i roto i te whare karakia o Tātai Hono i Tāmaki Makaurau. Nā ka taea ki te tau 2001 kei tōhua a Selwyn anō tēnei kiriata ā taua whakaari ka puta ki ngā papa kiriata o te Ao.
“The Māori take on Shakespeare's ‘pound of flesh’ drama is a story of deep-seated social and religious prejudice, in which the Jew (Shylock) has a long memory of oppression, but revenge is not so sweet.
THE MĀORI MERCHANT OF VENICE tells Shakespeare’s story of conflict between Antonio, a Christian merchant, and Shylock, a Jewish moneylender and the resolution provided by a strong woman, Portia.” - New Zealand Film Commission.