Othello with Henry K. Bal, a Hawaiian actor of mixed ethnicity, playing Iago. Othello’s army was composed of both black and white mercenaries. Iago’s wife, Emilia was played by the popular black actress Marie Goodman Hunter. The 2016 production at the New York Theatre Workshop, directed by Sam Gold, also effectively used a mixed-race cast, starring English actors David Oyelowo as Othello and Daniel Craig as Iago. Desdemona was played by American actress Rachel Brosnahan, Cassio was played by Finn Wittrock, and Emilia was played by Marsha Stephanie Blake. As the Protestant Reformation of England proclaimed the importance of pious, controlled
Desdemona (play) Desdemona (play) Desdemona is a play by Toni Morrison. It was first produced in Vienna in May 2011. The title character of the play is Desdemona, the wife of the title character in Shakespeare's Othello. The 2011 play arose from a collaboration between Morrison, director Peter Sellars, and musician Rokia Traoré, and revolves around Desdemona's relationship with the African nurse who raised her. Morrison's play marks the third major play focusing on Shakespeare's Desdemona composed by a modern female playwright, following "Desdemona: A Play about a Handkerchief" (1993) by Paula Vogel, and "Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)" (1988) by Ann-Marie