In:Othello in European Culture
Edited by Elena Bandín Fuertes, Francesca Rayner and Laura Campillo Arnaiz
[Shakespeare in European Culture 3] 2022
► pp. 63–80
Chapter 3Traditions of playing and spectating
The nineteenth-century reception of Othello in London and Pest-Buda
Published online: 25 May 2022
https://doi.org/10.1075/sec.3.03reu
https://doi.org/10.1075/sec.3.03reu
Abstract
This paper assumes that the reason why the first Hungarian Othello ruthlessly dragged his Desdemona across the boards and why the contemporary English Othello stabbed Desdemona instead, is inherent in the different ways stage business was (not) recorded, passed on and learnt by actors in England and in Hungary. The use, the study and the publication of earlier productions’ promptbooks seems to be a tradition missing from Hungarian (and perhaps any non-English speaking) Shakespearean tradition, a unique feature of English acting. This paper attempts to estimate the influence acting editions and promptbooks, representative of particular acting modes and witnesses of past productions, had in shaping Othello’s staging and reception.
Article outline
- Othello and the provincial dimwit, the notary of Peleske
- Library editions vs acting editions
- The art, the practice and the importance of dying (at length)
- To stab or not to stab?
- Othello on the Continent: Dragging Desdemona without a knife
- Over the ocean
- Conclusion: Fine-tuning the franchise as Othello travels
Notes References
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