Paul Robeson as Othello
Scene from Othello with Paul Robeson (1898-1976)
as Othello and Jose Ferrer (1912-1991) as Iago
Theatre Guild Production, Broadway, 1943-1944
Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Photograph Collection
Prints & Photographs Division
LC-USW33-054941-ZC (7)
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A leading British Shakespearean critic, John Dover Wilson, called
the performance of Paul Robeson the most notable Othello of the
twentieth century. The
son of an ex-slave, Robeson
became an All-American football hero as well as an actor and singer.
He first played Othello in London in 1930, with noted British actress
Peggy Ashcroft (1907-1991) as Desdemona. As the first time since
the 1860s that a black actor had played the title role,
the production marked a turning point that opened the way for other
blacks to play the part. In 1943, Robeson played Othello in New
York in a production directed by Margaret Webster and starring
Uta Hagen (1919-2004) as Desdemona and her husband Jose Ferrer
as Iago. According to the New York Times, Robeson "gave
to the role a majesty and power that had seldom if ever been seen
on the American stage. The performance won Robeson the 1944 Donalson
Award (a forerunner of the Tony). After running on Broadway for
296 performances, longer than any previous Shakespeare play, the
production made a lengthy and triumphant North American tour.
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