He first played Othello in 1997, when the role was still synonymous with white thespians ‘blacking up’. Now, nearly three decades on, he, Chiwetel Ejiofor and other Black actors discuss how best to tackle Shakespeare’s formidable tragedy“I had no intention of playing this character again. But as soon as the light went on, the house caught fire – and it’s been burning ever since.” David Harewood is talking about Othello, ahead of a new production from the Tony award-winning director Tom Morris that opens in London’s West End on 23 October. The production, which also features Toby Jones as Iago and Caitlin Fitzgerald as Desdemona, sees Harewood return to the role almost 30 years after his landmark performance at the National Theatre.When he took on Othello in 1997, it was the second time he’d done so in his then-short career. The first was at the Swan theatre in Worcester six years earlier – an opportunity for him to familiarise himself with a text he’d certainly revisit in the future, his agent at the time told him. Now he was at the Cottesloe (renamed the Dorfman in 2014) as the first Black man to play Othello on a National Theatre stage. Continue reading...
Sunday 19 October 2025
theguardian - 7 hours ago
David Harewood returns to Othello: ‘I don’t just want to open the door but kick it down for the people behind me’
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