Who Tells This Story?

WHO TELLS THIS STORY?

Ira Aldridge was the first actor of color to play Othello on a major stage. How much did his barrier-breaking performance change future casting? Take our quiz to find out.

Start

When Ira Aldridge played Othello in 1833 at Covent Garden, how old was the play?

A) 200 years old

C) 220 years old

D) 230 years old

B) 210 years old

That's right!

Othello was probably written in 1603, and first performed in 1604 with Richard Burbage in the title role. For all 230 years, white actors played the title role. Aldridge was breaking more than two centuries of tradition.

Next

The answer is 230.

Othello was probably written in 1603, and first performed in 1604 with Richard Burbage in the title role. For all 230 years, white actors played the title role. Aldridge was breaking more than two centuries of tradition.

Next

Go Back

After Aldridge played the role, white actors returned to Othello. What year did Edwin Booth (John Wilkes Booth's brother) play the part?

A) 1861

C) 1881

B) 1871

D) 1891

That's correct.

Booth alternated the role with Henry Irving in 1881, with each actor swapping between Othello and Iago nightly.

Next

It's 1881.

Booth alternated the role with Henry Irving in 1881, with each actor swapping between Othello and Iago nightly.

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Go Back

How many years did it take before a Black actor returned to the role in London?

C) 107

A) 87

D) 117

B) 97

You got it!

97 years after Aldridge's ill-fated turn at Covent Garden, Paul Robeson became only the second Black actor to play the part on a major stage with his 1930 West End production. 13 years later, he became the first Black actor to play the part in America with his 1943 Broadway production.

Next

It was 97.

97 years after Aldridge's ill-fated turn at Covent Garden, Paul Robeson became only the second Black actor to play the part on a major stage with his 1930 West End production. 13 years later, he became the first Black actor to play the part in America with his 1943 Broadway production.

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Go Back

After Robeson, white actors again remained the traditional choice for Othello. Which of these actors played the part in the 20th century?

A) Anthony Hopkins

C) Patrick Stewart

B) Laurence Olivier

D) All of the Above

That's right.

While actors like James Earl Jones and Willard White did play the role, they were the exception rather than the rule. Anthony Hopkins played Othello in a 1981 BBC production, the same year Jones played the role on Broadway in America. Olivier played the part onstage and on screen in 1964 in full blackface, and Patrick Stewart played the role in a 1997 production in DC. In this one, all the races were swapped, and he was the only white person onstage.

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It's all of them.

While actors like James Earl Jones and Willard White did play the role, they were the exception rather than the rule. Anthony Hopkins played Othello in a 1981 BBC production, the same year Jones played the role on Broadway in America. Olivier played the part onstage and on screen in 1964 in full blackface. Paul Scofield played Othello at London's National Theatre in 1980, and Patrick Stewart played the role in a 1997 production in DC. In this one, all the races were swapped, so that he was the only white person onstage.

Next

Go Back

When did a Black actor first play Othello at the National Theatre in London?

A) 1988

C) 1998

B) 1992

D) 2002

You're correct.

In 1998, more than 150 years after Aldridge broke the color barrier for Othello, David Harewood became the first Black actor to play the role at the National Theatre. This finally marks the start of a wider change; from the 1990s onward, the part is played overwhelmingly by actors of color.

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It was 1998.

In 1998, more than 150 years after Aldridge broke the color barrier for Othello, David Harewood became the first Black actor to play the role at the National Theatre. This finally marks the start of a wider change; from the 1990s onward, the part is played overwhelmingly by actors of color.

Go Back

Next

Keith Hamilton Cobb was born just 19 years after Paul Robeson became the first Black actor to play Othello on a major American stage. How many years after that performance did Cobb begin developing American Moor?

A) 50

C) 70

B) 60

D) 80

You're correct.

Cobb developed American Moor in earnest in 2013 just 70 years after Paul Robeson first broke the color barrier in America and only about 20 years after Black actors became the norm in the role. The Actor is in a strange position — expected to play a role people like him have only had access to for a few decades over the play's hundreds of years.

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It's 70.

Cobb developed American Moor in earnest in 2013 just 70 years after Paul Robeson first broke the color barrier in America and only about 20 years after Black actors became the norm in the role. The Actor is in a strange position — expected to play a role people like him have only had access to for a few decades over the play's hundreds of years.

Go Back

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The End.

How did you do? Let us know, then join us for American Moor at Lantern Theater Company through Dec. 8.