Photograph of a tableau originally performed at 21 Cromwell Road and arranged by James Sant RA (1820-1916). Four actors perform the parts of Bassanio, Portia, Gratiano and Nerissa of Act 3 Scene 2 of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. The players are gathered in a room with a painted backdrop decorated with a wall mirror. On the right, Bassanio, played by Arthur Ram, kneels before Portia and both hold each others hands as he proposes marriage. Having pronounced their love for one another, Portia who is probably played by Alice Mainwaring (1852-78) exclaims "This house, these servants and this same myself are your my lord." In the background, Gratiano and Nerissa exclaim their love for one another leading to Gratiano's request to Bassanio that they too marry. Sarah Fanny Constance Sant (1856-1948) plays the part of Nerissa and Alfred J de Sterne plays Gratiano.

The play is set in sixteenth-century Venice and was written between 1596 and 1598. It tells the story of a merchant who is forced to default on a large loan provided by an abused Jewish moneylender. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh acted as Royal patrons to the performances and with Princess Louise, viewed the performances at 21 Cromwell Street, home to the architect, Charles Freake (1814-84). The proceeds raised by the performances were donated to the National Orphan Home and the Victoria Hospital for Sick Children.