Othello and Blackface (rebroadcast)

Othello and Blackface (rebroadcast)

In Act 3, scene 4 of Othello, Othello tells Desdemona that the handkerchief he gave her was “dyed in mummy.” What does that mean? According to Lafayette College’s Ian Smith, it means the handkerchief was dyed black. In this episode, originally broadcast in June 2016, we talk to Smith and Ayanna Thompson about Elizabethan modes of blackface—which included covering a performer’s body with dyed cloth to simulate blackness—and how Smith’s insight changes how we understand Othello. Ian Smith is a professor of English at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. When we published this episode, Ayanna Thompson was a professor of English at George Washington University. She is now Director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Arizona State University. Smith and Thompson are interviewed by Barbara Bogaev. From our Shakespeare Unlimited podcast. Originally published June 14, 2016. Re-broadcast August 20, 2019. © Folger Shakespeare Library. All rights reserved. This podcast episode, “Teach Him How To Tell My Story,” was produced by Richard Paul. Garland Scott is the associate producer. It was edited by Gail Kern Paster and Esther Ferington. Ben Lauer is the web producer. With technical help from Tobey Shreiner at WAMU-FM in Washington, DC, Neil Hever at radio station WDIY in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Jeff Peters at the Marketplace Studios in Los Angeles.

Jaksot(296)

Hamnet, with Chloe Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell

Hamnet, with Chloe Zhao and Maggie O'Farrell

Hamnet, the acclaimed novel by Maggie O’Farrell, is now a major film. The story imagines the life and death of Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, whose loss would later echo through one of his most famous tra...

2 Joulu 202536min

London's First Playhouse and Shakespeare

London's First Playhouse and Shakespeare

Before Shakespeare became a literary icon, he was a working writer trying to earn a living in an emerging and often precarious new industry. In The Dream Factory: London’s First Playhouse and the Maki...

17 Marras 202536min

Mary, Queen of Scots, with Jade Scott

Mary, Queen of Scots, with Jade Scott

Imprisoned for nearly 20 years by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I, Mary, Queen of Scots, fought her battles through words, sending and receiving coded letters hidden in books, garments, and even beer bar...

3 Marras 202536min

Richard Burbage and the Shakespearean Stage

Richard Burbage and the Shakespearean Stage

Long before Shakespeare became a household name, there was Richard Burbage. As the first actor to play Hamlet, Macbeth, Richard III, and King Lear, Burbage helped define what it meant to be a Shakespe...

21 Loka 202534min

Harriet Walter: New Words for Shakespeare's Women

Harriet Walter: New Words for Shakespeare's Women

Shakespeare’s plays are filled with unforgettable women—but too often, their voices are cut short. Ophelia never gets to defend herself. Gertrude never explains her choices. Lady Anne surrenders to Ri...

7 Loka 202535min

Stephen Greenblatt on Christopher Marlowe

Stephen Greenblatt on Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare were both born in 1564, rising from working-class origins finding success in the new world of the theater. But before Shakespeare transformed English drama,...

23 Syys 202540min

Al Letson on his play Julius X

Al Letson on his play Julius X

You may know Al Letson as a journalist—he’s the host of the popular investigative podcast Reveal. Before that, he created and hosted the public radio show State of the Re:Union. But Letson is also an ...

8 Syys 202529min

Director Rosa Joshi on Julius Caesar Today

Director Rosa Joshi on Julius Caesar Today

Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar feels urgently contemporary in Rosa Joshi’s new production at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival—one of America’s largest and longest-running theater festivals, now in its 90t...

26 Elo 202540min

Suosittua kategoriassa Premium

nikotellen
anni-jaajo
tuplakaak
antin-matka
jaljilla
olipa-kerran-otsikko
grekovit
hei-baby-3
maanantaimysteeri
sita
terveisia-perheesta
i-dont-like-mondays
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
palmujen-varjoissa
kaksi-aitia
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
the-harlin-show
murhan-anatomia
ihan-oikeesti
backmanholmavuo