''Desdemona'' is a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...

. It was first produced in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in May 2011. The title character of the play is

Desdemona Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello, a Moorish Venetian ...

, the wife of the title character in

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

. The 2011 play arose from a collaboration between Morrison, director

Peter Sellars Peter Sellars (born September 27, 1957) is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays. Sellars is professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where ...

, and musician

Rokia Traoré Rokia Traoré (born 24. January 1974) is a Malian-born singer, songwriter and guitarist. She made six albums between 1998 and 2016. ''Bowmboï'' (2003) won the Critics Award category at the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music in 2004 and ''Tchama ...

. About a decade earlier, Morrison and Sellars had disagreed about Shakespeare’s play, which Sellars detested but Morrison valued. They agreed that Sellars would stage “Othello” and Morrison would respond to in another way, resulting in her ''Desdemona''. The play revolves around Desdemona's relationship with the nurse who raised her, "Barbara" in Shakespeare but "Barbary" in Morrison's work. She is envisioned as an African woman, suggested by the name "Barbary" being not only a familiar variant of the name but a reference to northern Africa (the " Barbary coast") in Shakespeare's day. This also gives Desdemona an emotional connection with African people dating back to her childhood. 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 Paula Vogel (born November 16, 1951) is an American playwright who received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''How I Learned to Drive.'' A longtime teacher, Vogel spent the bulk of her academic career – from 1984 to 2008 – at Bro ...

, and ''

Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) ''Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)'' is a 1988 comedic play by Ann-Marie MacDonald in which Constance Ledbelly, a young English literature professor from Queen's University, goes on a subconscious journey of self-discovery. Constance ...

'' (1988) by

Ann-Marie MacDonald Ann-Marie MacDonald (born October 29, 1958) is a Canadian playwright, author, actress, and broadcast host who lives in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. MacDonald is the daughter of a member of Canada's military; she was born at an air force base near ...

. All three plays have highly divergent interpretations of the character of Desdemona. The official playscript of ''Desdemona'' was published in 2012 by

Oberon Books Oberon Books is a London-based independent publisher of drama texts and books on theatre. The company publishes around 100 titles per year, many of them plays by new writers. In addition, the list contains a range of titles on theatre studies, act ...

, with a foreword written by the director

Performances

* May 15, 17-21, 2011 - Theater Akzent - Vienna, Austria * May 26–29, 2011 - Theatre Royal Flamand (KVS) - Brussels, Belgium * October 13–21, 2011 - Nanterre-Amandiers theatre, Nanterre, France * October 26–29, 2011 - Zellerbach Playhouse, Berkeley, United States * November 2–3, 2011 - Rose Theater - New York, United States * November 10–12, 2011 -

Haus der Berliner Festspiele The Haus der Berliner Festspiele is a theater in Berlin (Schaperstraße 24, 10719 Berlin). It was opened on 1 May 1963 as the "Theater der Freien Volksbühne". Previously, the West Berlin part of the former Volksbühne Berlin, the , which wa ...

- Berlin, Germany * July 2012 - Barbican Centre - London, England * June 11–13, 2013 - Holland Festival, Amsterdam, the Netherlands * November 2013 - Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts: School of Drama - Kingston, Jamaica * October 8–11, 2015 - UCLA's Freud Playhouse, Los Angeles, United States * October 16–19, 2015 - Southbank Theatre, Melbourne, Australia * April 16, 2019 - Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA https://www.facebook.com/events/356341841646325/

References

{{Authority control 2011 plays Plays and musicals based on Othello Works by Toni Morrison