Ira Aldridge takes the stage
Ira Aldridge as Aaron in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. Since their revival by David Garrick in the early eighteenth century, Shakespeare and his plays have always generated a certain aura of celebrity, sometimes referred to as “Bardolatry.” Following in the footsteps…
Kim Hall: Bringing African American experiences to Shakespeare
Paul Robeson was the first modern African American to perform Shakespeare—to perform Othello, and he talks in his letters and in his essays about bringing his experiences as a student in a white arena, his experiences with racism, to the…
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…