The Tragedy of Othello
A Shakespearean Stage History: The Tragedy of Othello, the Moore of Venice Considered by many to be Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, Othello, the Moore of Venice, was first recorded as having been performed in 1604. It was probably written not long before that, although the text of the play was not published until eighteen years later in 1622, in the First Quarto. Although nearly 400 years have passed since the first production of Othello, there have not been many drastic changes in the way of staging. Directors, actors, and critics over the years have seemed to agree that the focus of the stage play lies with the actors, mainly those who play Othello and Iago, and not in the scenery or in the technical aspects. Reviews and written records of the play from the 1600s to the early 1900s seem to focus almost exclusively on the actors who played Iago and Othello, and what they brought to the play. Although there have not been drastic changes in the way of staging, directors of the play still have choices to make. They do this by cutting certain lines or scenes, or by making the focus of the play be on race or on jealousy. Over the years there have been many outstanding performances of Othello, each of which have left their
Aside from Kean changing the way Othello's race was seen, he was noted as one of the greatest Othello's. (Spector, 93) Robeson had never thought that this would be a success in America, saying "They certainly wouldn't stand in America for the kissing and for the scene in which I use Miss Ashcroft roughly. The Tragedy of the Moore of Venice truly has a rich stage history that will be continued in the years to come, bringing even more innovations to this age-old story of love and jealousy. Robeson commented: " It is a tragedy of racial conflict, a tragedy of honor, rather than of jealousy. Webster chose Robeson purposely, a dark-skinned black man, wanting it to be very clear that Othello was indeed supposed to be black. These performances took place at many places, often at the Globe Theater, or elsewhere before royalty. There is one other significant actor who played Othello in the nineteenth century, in both England and America, and that is Italian actor Tommaso Salvini. Their focus was on race and racial issues in the play, and they wanted to stress this to the audience. The past 400 years have proven Shakespeare's Othello to be an ageless work that is still as enjoyable today as it was then. " (Barnet 225) Robeson was able to bring his incredible portrayal of Othello to the United States in 1942, under the direction of Margaret Webster. Writer William Hazlitt remarked "There is but one perfect way of playing Othello, and that was the way. He played the role with a serious nature, setting the precedent for the rest of the century. Othello was immediately performed, with a surprising change: a female actress was now in the role of Desdemona, for the first time.
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