Portia (The Merchant of Venice) original Portia Shakespeare drew from was Porcia Catonis, the wife of the Roman statesman Brutus. She was also compared to the wife of Brutus within the play in Act 1 scene 1 when Bassanio talks to Antonio. The strength of the role of Portia has made it attractive to many notable actresses. Frances Abington, Sarah Siddons and Elizabeth Whitlock all played Portia in the 18th century when actresses first started appearing on stage in performances of the play. More recently, the role has been depicted in the cinema and on television by a number of notable actresses such as Maggie
The Maori Merchant of Venice in 2002, while Waihoroi Shortland won the film award for best actor at the New Zealand Film and TV Awards in 2003. "The Merchant of Venice" is not the only Shakespearian play to have been adapted to Māori themes, though it is the only one to have been released as a feature film. Adaptations of "Othello", using a Māori cast and usually set during either the Musket Wars or New Zealand Land Wars of the nineteenth century, have been performed on numerous occasions since the late 1990s, most notably at Christchurch's Court Theatre in 2001. The Maori Merchant of Venice