FAQs
FAQs
Othello was the first Shakespeare play I read that felt relevant to modern audiences. When I was preparing to write my senior thesis, I was reflecting on how Shakespeare has had a universal appeal for the last four hundred years, and it made me think about how much has changed in the world since Shakespeare first wrote his works. Othello was written before England became a major global power and before race, as we know it today, had solidified into a concept, yet it still feels perfectly relevant in the face of current conversations about racial justice and immigration policies. However, in order to produce versions of Othello that explore the play to its fullest potential, I realized that it was important to understand the topics productions have addressed in the past, as well as how past productions inform present interpretations.
While my work was informed by a number of sources, including books by Shakespearean scholars, commentary from various editions of the play, journal articles, and doctoral dissertations, I used primary texts from various eras whenever possible, including references to performances from diaries and personal correspondence, original theater reviews, promptbooks from various productions, among other records.
This research is primarily intended to inform directors and dramaturgs of the play's past lives and how the past informs the present. I hope it will inspire someone to explore the relationship between Iago and the audience as a vessel for the audience's self reflection and transformation in their own production of Othello. This research may also be valuable to those who are interested in knowing the play's production history and the development of its critical tradition.