Othello
Q Brothers - Othello: The Remix
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 64 Since 2002, Gregory and Jeffery Ameen Qaiyum, better known as GQ and JAQ – the Q Brothers – have been using hip-hop to adapt and update the plays of William Shakespeare. At the time we recorded…
Keith Hamilton Cobb on American Moor
Shakespeare Unlimited: Episode 54 Othello is the story of a tragic murder and suicide involving a dark-skinned general and his aristocratic, white-skinned bride. Who should direct it? Who’s “allowed” to? What if, say, a white director and the actor he’s…
Othello and Blackface
On the Shakespeare Unlimited podcast, Ian Smith and Ayanna Thompson talk about Elizabethan modes of blackface—which included covering a performer’s body with dyed cloth to simulate blackness—and how Smith’s insight changes how we understand Othello.
Cervantes, the Moors of Spain, and the Moor of Venice
Othello, the Moor of Venice. Desdemona loved to hear him tell the story of his adventures / Louis Rhead. Folger Shakespeare Library.Of all Shakespeare’s plays, Othello is the one that is most frequently compared to Spanish literature in the age…
A contract for Othello
Paul Robeson as Othello Folger Finds delivers delightful and insightful moments with the Folger collection. Sarah Hovde, a cataloger at the Folger Shakespeare Library, unearths the contract between the producer, the director, and the star of the longest-running Shakespeare play…
Louis Butelli: "Come, Cassius' Sword"
By your leave, gods:—this is a Roman’s part Come, Cassius’ sword -Julius Caesar, V.ii.100 One of the great challenges of playing Cassius in Folger Theatre’s production of Julius Caesar is (spoiler alert!) committing suicide on-stage eight times a week. Louis…
Teaching Shakespeare: Mini-Research Projects
Karen Peakes (Emilia) and Janie Brookshire (Desdemona) in Othello, directed by Robert Richmond, Folger Theatre, 2011. Photo by Carol Pratt. By Deborah Gascon I set a goal this school year to include several, less time-consuming (but equally as meaningful), mini-research projects…
Louis Butelli: Folger Audio Recordings
Louis Butelli as Feste in Twelfth Night. Photo by Scott Suchman. Hello once again from your friend Louis Butelli, most recently Feste in Folger Theatre’s Twelfth Night. We closed our show on June 9 after a great run: thanks to…
Louis Butelli: Henry VIII in Alabama
Hello, readers of the Folger Theatre Production Diary! My name is Louis Butelli. I was a contributor here during Folger’s recent production of Othello, in which I played Roderigo. Last week, I was asked if I would put together a…
Fare Thee Well
Hi there! It’s Louis Butelli, from Folger’s Othello, writing to you one last time. As they say, all good things must come to an end. I’m fairly certain they weren’t referring to this blog when they said it, but, regardless,…
Vault Tour II and Closing Night
Hello again from your blogfriend Louis Butelli, lately of Folger Theatre’s Othello. I am very, very pleased to report the following couple of things! 1. We had an incredible closing night this past Sunday. We were sold to the rafters…
Terms of the Search
Hey there, blogfriends! It’s me, Louis Butelli. I play Roderigo in Folger Theatre’s production of Othello, which just closed on Sunday. The play may be over, but you haven’t heard the last from me. This is just a quick note to…