The History of Othello Shane Sullivan In Breif

The History of Othello Shaneé Sullivan

In Breif Ø A. K. A. The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice Ø Based on a Italian short story: Un Captiano Moro (A Moorish Captain) Ø Centered around four themes: love, jelousy, racism, and betrayal

Performance History Has not been a decade when Othello was not staged (except during the time of commonwealth) Ø First known performances of Othello was in 1604 in White. Hall for King James VI (Richard Burbage as Othello) Ø Other performances include royal performances in honor of King James VI’s daughter in 1613 and many performances in the Globe, Blackfriars Theatre and at the Hampton Court from 1610 -1636 Ø

Performance History Commonwealth collapse (1660) Charles II reopened theatres Ø Charles II a royal warrant stating that only women should play the parts of women; that year Margaret Huges (Desdemona) and this prologue was written for the occasion: Ø “ I saw the lady dressed. The woman plays today: mistake me not; No man in gown, or page in petticoat; A woman to my knowledge, yet I can't (If I should die) make affidavit on't. '

Edits In the 1700’s Othello was molded to fit the style and expectations of the period (offensive speeches were removed from the play) Ø In the 18 th century, Othello’s character was molded to fit traditional hero standards (lines were cut from the play to mask Othello’s rougher character flaws) Ø l l l Desdemona and Cassio in bed Othello’s Epileptic Fit Lines from the Willows Song

Character History Ø Othello l l l Richard Burbage- First to play Othello Edmund Kean- Normally played Iago Ira Aldridge- first black actor to play Othello in England l Paul Robeson- first black actor to play Othello in USA l l Henry Irving and Edwin Boothalternated roles of Othello/ Iago Orson Welles James Earl Jones Patrick Stewart- portrayed the Moor as a white man and other characters were black actors l Lawrence Fishburne

Othello in Different Genres Ø Opera l l Ø Film l l l Ø Orson Welles (1952) "O“ Othello (1995) Television l l Ø Gioacchino Rossini- No handkerchief, Iago was a reject admirer Giuseppe Verdi's- closer to Shakespeare’s text, cut from 3500 lines to 800 lines, left out act 1 Othello (PBS) Sanford and Son Ballet l l José Limón- The Moor's Pavane (1949) John Neumeier- Othello (1985)

Fun with Othello Ø Othello Rap

Works Cited Ø http: //www. pbs. org/wgbh/masterpiece/othell o/ Ø http: //www. rsc. org. uk/othello/about/stage. ht ml Ø http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Othello