Othello (Orson Welles stage production) Desdemona - or Shakespeare, according to which newspaper you read." Othello (Orson Welles stage production) Othello was a 1951 production of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, which was produced, directed by and starring Orson Welles in his first appearance on the London stage. In 1948, Orson Welles began work on a self-financed film of "Othello", which was not completed until 1952. Filming was sporadic, and he frequently stopped the production to take on other acting jobs (including "The Third Man") to raise more funds. In 1951, Welles had completed principal photography, but was still trying to raise money
Othello it and reworked hints in creating the character of Othello. While supplying the source of the plot, the book offered nothing of the sense of place of Venice or Cyprus. For knowledge of this, Shakespeare may have used Gasparo Contarini's "The Commonwealth and Government of Venice", in Lewes Lewkenor's 1599 translation. The earliest mention of the play is found in a 1604 Revels Office account, which records that on "Hallamas Day, being the first of Nouembar ... the Kings Maiesties plaiers" performed "A Play in the Banketinghouse at Whit Hall Called The Moor of Venis." The work is attributed to