Race, Casting and Story

by Dan Whisker The comedian Athena Kugblenu recently delivered a comedic routine addressing the implausibility of Idris Elba’s black James Bond (black James Bond is inevitably in the long, slow passport queue at Moscow airport; local law enforcement agencies the world over vigorously object to a heavily armed black man in their jurisdictions). Of course,… Read More

Interview with Lucian Msamati, the first Black Iago at the Royal Shakespeare Company

by Sabo Kpade One thing that tends to never change in past iterations of Othello are the central roles: Othello, the Black or “blackened” flawed general, and Iago, the scheming and racist subordinate. These characters have always been left intact, for their different races and ranks contribute to the strongest charge around which the entire… Read More

The Tragedy Of Otello: A layperson’s view of racial politics in 21st Century opera

 by Daniel York  The English National Opera have recently announced that the role of Otello in their upcoming production of Verdi’s opera of the same name, which is based on Shakespeare’s Othello, will be played by the renowned Australian tenor, Stuart Skelton. Othello is of course Shakespeare’s famous (and in many ways infamous) “black” character.… Read More