SYNOPSIS
William Shakespeare’s Othello is a tightly constructed tragedy adapted from the sixteenth century Italian dramatist and novelist Giraldi Cinthio’s Gli Hectommithi. Othello focuses on the passions and personal lives of its four central characters: Othello, a Moorish general in the Venetian army; his wife Desdemona; his lieutenant, Cassio; and his trusted ensign Iago. This masterpiece has no subplot and little humor to relieve the immense tension between its characters as they experience racism, love, jealousy and betrayal. Because of these varied themes, Othello effectively captivates its present day audiences more than 400 years after its initial debut.  

PLAYWRIGHT
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, and widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon.”His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. Shakespeare was a respected poet and playwright in his own day, but his reputation did not rise to its present heights until the nineteenth century. The Romantics, in particular, acclaimed Shakespeare's genius, and the Victorians hero-worshipped Shakespeare with a reverence that George Bernard Shaw called "bardolatry." In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by new movements in scholarship and performance. His plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts throughout the world.

PRODUCTION HISTORY & ADAPTATIONS
Othello premiered on November 1^st, 1604 in a banqueting house at Whitehall. Since its premiere, Othello has maintained its popularity - being the 5^th most referred to work in contemporary literature. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, many of the most brilliant actors of the time sought the role of the Moor - the most famous being Edmund Kean, the great tragic thespian, who also gave noted performances as Richard III, Macbeth, Lear, and Hamlet. One production of Othello, produced in 1660, starred the actress Margaret Hughes in the role of Desdemona. This production is of particular importance because it marked the first time a woman was accepted on the English stage. Before this, all the characters, whether male or female, were played exclusively by men.This play has also been the basis for numerous operatic, film, ballet and literary adaptations. Most notably, 19^th century composers Gioacchino Rossini and Giuseppe Verdi developed operas based on Shakespeare’s Othello.  There are several screen adaptations of the play including the Orson Welles-directed 1952 version and the more contemporary 2001 version titled O, starring Julia Stiles and Mekhi Phifer.

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