Race-ing with the Times: Theatrical Exigency and Performative Politics in Trevor Nunn’s Othello (1989)

Authors

  • Susan L. Fischer

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14198/raei.2012.25.13

Keywords:

Shakespeare, William, Theatre, Othello, Nunn, Trevor

Abstract

An almost beat-by-beat re-viewing and re-reading of the temptation scene in Trevor Nunn’s 1989 National Theatre production of Othello registered a need to query whether the director’s decision to cast a (black) opera singer rather than a (Shakespearean) actor in the demanding role of Othello had been misguided. This view presupposes that theatrical exigency – the development of a dramatic action and on-stage situation – would be highlighted over the contingency of performative politics, however vital contemporary attention to cultural matters of “inauthenticity” and “political correctness” may be regarded.

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Published

15-11-2012

How to Cite

Fischer, Susan L. 2012. “Race-Ing With the Times: Theatrical Exigency and Performative Politics in Trevor Nunn’s Othello (1989)”. Alicante Journal of English Studies / Revista Alicantina De Estudios Ingleses, no. 25 (November):167-77. https://doi.org/10.14198/raei.2012.25.13.