When was Othello first played by a black man?

The first black actor to play many of William Shakespeare's leading roles, Ira Aldridge took 19th-century London by storm when in 1825 he performed Othello in the city's docklands.

Was Othello played by a black man?

Mekhi Phifer. Distinguished black thespians have portrayed one of Shakespeare's most famed and widely depicted characters for years. But paving the way for those acting legends nearly 200 years ago was Ira Aldridge, the first black actor to breathe life into the Othello role.

What black actors played Othello?

African-American actor Paul Robeson (1898-1976) was the first black actor since 1860 to perform the role of Othello in a major production. Robeson was a remarkably talented man; a student sports star who played in the precursor to the NFL, an accomplished bass-baritone, and a fine actor on film and stage.

Who first performed Othello?

We know that the original Othello was Richard Burbage, Shakespeare's leading actor, who also created the roles of Hamlet and King Lear.

Who was the first African American to play Othello with an all white cast?

His replacement; Ira Aldridge, a 26-year-old African American who broke the colour barrier for actors in early 19th century Britain.

They Really Did That to Othello - Key

Was Othello played by a white man?

It's all but certain that Shakespeare's first Othello was Richard Burbage, a white Londoner. It's even more likely that Burbage would have worn dark makeup, as actors in Britain did until the late 1980s (Michael Gambon was one of the last, at Scarborough in 1990).

When did Robeson play Othello?

The American actor Paul Robeson (1898–1976) played the title role of Othello, with Uta Hagen as Desdemona, in the Theatre Guild production in New York in 1943–44. It became the longest running Shakespeare play in the history of Broadway.

Who played Othello in blackface?

Reception. Olivier played Othello in blackface. He also adopted an exotic accent of his own invention, developed a special walk, and learned how to speak in a voice considerably deeper than his normal one.

What race was Othello?

"Shakespeare meant Othello to be a Black Moor from Africa, an African of the highest nobility of heritage. From Kean on, Othello was made a light-skinned Moor because the West had since made Africa a slave center and the African was pictured only as a slave.”

Who played the best Othello?

Who are the actors in Othello?

Othello: Laurence Fishburne. Desdemona: Irene Jacob. Iago: Kenneth Branagh. Cassio: Nathaniel Parker.

Is Othello white?

Virginia Mason Vaughan suggests that the racial identity of the character of Othello fits more clearly as a man from Sub-Saharan Africa than from North Africa (Barbary), as north Africans were more easily accepted into society.

Are there black characters in Shakespeare?

Although he admitted that there are obvious black characters in plays such as “Antony and Cleopatra” (1606),“Othello” (1604) and “The Merchant of Venice” (1605), it doesn't mean that other plays don't have aspects of race people tend to overlook due to “racial blind spots,” as he put it.

How does Othello's race affect the play?

The colour of Othello's skin is obviously a crucial factor in his downfall, because his visibly alien racial identity makes him and his bride far more vulnerable to the machinations of Iago than if he were an equally accomplished and indispensable white man.

How many times was Othello performed?

It ran for 296 performances, almost twice as long as any other Shakespearean play ever produced on Broadway.

When did Ira Aldridge first play Othello?

The first black actor to play many of William Shakespeare's leading roles, Ira Aldridge took 19th-century London by storm when in 1825 he performed Othello in the city's docklands.

When was Othello performed at the Globe Theatre?

It was staged on 2/ 30/1610 at the Globe Theatre, and at Oxford in 9/1610. On 11/22/1629, and on 5/ 6/1635, it played at the Blackfriars Theatre. The King's Men performed Othello in winter 1612 for the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V, Elector Palatine.

When did Olivier play Othello?

The British actor, Laurence Olivier (1907–1989) played Othello for the National Theatre at The Old Vic in 1964. Maggie Smith took the part of Desdemona while John Dexter was Iago. As this photographic postcard shows, Olivier 'blacked up' to play the part, as was common until the early 1980s.

Why is Othello called the Moor?

Othello is referred to as the Moor because of his dark skin color. The term was initially used to describe people from the ancient Roman province, which is now North Africa, but over time the word "Moor" became an ambiguous term used to describe anyone who had dark skin.

Did Sidney Poitier ever play Othello?

Sidney Poitier, who has died aged 94, once turned down the role of Othello because he did not want to be typecast as a black actor. It underlined the dilemma faced by a man who broke down many of Hollywood's racial barriers.

When did Paul Robeson play Othello at Stratford?

It's 60 years ago, in April 1959, that one of the most important events in the history of the theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon took place. Paul Robeson, the great American singer and actor, became the first black Othello in Shakespeare's town in the twentieth century.

Did Paul Robeson ever play Othello?

Under the direction of Margaret Webster, Robeson became the first African American to be cast as Othello in a major production in the United States, and the first Black actor to perform the role since Ira Aldridge in the 19th century.

Why was Paul Robeson's portrayal of Othello significant?

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, WA Darlington felt that Robeson was a "really memorable" Othello precisely because he was black: "By reason of his race Mr Robeson is able to surmount the difficulties which English actors generally find in the part." While other Othellos had seemed illogically jealous, Robeson's ...