Over the first half of the nineteenth century, theatre managers were especially concerned with improvements, both technically and creatively. Innovations in the way theatres were constructed enabled them to use more elaborate scenery and accommodate larger orchestras to create productions that immersed their audiences in fully realized worlds. However, while the audiences of the previous century had been contented solely with the spectacle, nineteenth century audiences were no longer satisfied by the novelty of immersive scenery and expected a production’s technical elements to contribute to their understanding of the play. 

One way in which theatre managers rose to meet this demand was by historicizing the plays in the eras in which they were set. Historian and dramatist James Robinson Planché (1796-1880) took credit for this innovation, noting that “a thousand pounds were frequently lavished on a Christmas pantomime or Easter spectacle, while the plays of Shakespeare were put upon the stage with makeshift scenery and… habits of the Elizabethan era… very inaccurately representing the costume… of that period [in which the play was set].” Commissioned by Charles Kemble, the manager of Covent Garden, Planché set about designing historically accurate costumes for an 1823 production of King John, and his designs were met with such high approbation from the audience that “a complete reformation of dramatic costume became from that moment inevitable upon the English stage.”[2] For Othello, the first of these historicized productions came about in 1837 at Covent Garden, under the direction of actor and newly appointed theatre manager William Charles Macready. Macready took Kemble’s attention to accuracy a step further, sparing no expense in recreating a Renaissance Venice and Cyprus in exquisite detail through costumes and elaborate scenery, and his production was so successful that it set a standard for subsequent productions that lasted till the end of the century.