Othello

Color of Character: Racial Cues in the Visual Othello
A participant in the undergraduate seminar, Whose Sovereignty?, explores depictions of Othello in the Folger collection

Simon Russell Beale on Shakespeare, from Hamlet to Titus
Called “the finest actor of his generation,” Beale has played just about everyone in Shakespeare’s canon. He reflects on the roles that have shaped his career and how his approach has evolved over time.

“God help the wicked”: Searching for redemption in Shakespeare
Austin Tichenor explores how the shift of a narrative’s perspective can offer answers to questions about which characters deserve redemption and our forgiveness, from Lear to Iago to Richard III.

Q&A: John Douglas Thompson on playing Othello at the Royal Shakespeare Company
John Douglas Thompson, who is playing the title role in Othello in the Royal Shakespeare Company production, shares his insights about the character and the play.

Fred Wilson Installation Draws in Visitors
As visitors enter the Folger’s Shakespeare Exhibition Hall from the west lobby, before discovering the playwright’s stories and related artifacts in the interactive galleries, a majestic black mirror centered on a scarlet wall beckons them to take a closer look.

Fred Wilson on His New Work for the Folger
The contemporary artist reflects on his new piece for the Folger’s Shakespeare Exhibition and how his work uses museums’ collections to explore their histories.

Re-thinking "Honest Iago"
Austin Tichenor grapples with the larger question of whether Iago deserves the sympathetic re-evaluation found in Iago: The Green Eyed Monster.

Excerpt: "The Great White Bard"
Farah Karim-Cooper explores the way that race is represented by Desdemona in Shakespeare’s Othello, in this excerpt from her new book, The Great White Bard.

Farah Karim-Cooper on The Great White Bard
Can we love Shakespeare and be antiracist? Farah Karim-Cooper’s new book explores the language of race and difference in plays such as Antony and Cleopatra, Titus Andronicus, and The Tempest.

Adrian Lester on Playing Rosalind, Henry V, Othello, and Hamlet
Actor Adrian Lester walks us through big moments in his illustrious career, including Cheek by Jowl’s all-male “As You Like It” and Peter Brook’s “Hamlet.”

Printing plays in Mexico
Dumbarton Oaks fellow Abner Aldarondo explores a book in the Folger Collection that gathers together six plays printed in Mexico City in the 1830s.

Debra Ann Byrd on Becoming Othello
Theater-maker and past Folger Fellow Debra Ann Byrd tells us about her solo show.