[Dixielandjazz] Interesting article on new performancesofMinstrelShows

[G. William Oakley]

"I dont think we have had a white Othello..."
Until very recently Othello has always been portrayed by "blacked up"  white
actors, e.g. Olivier, Anthony Hopkins, and Orson Welles. I would bet that it
at some point in early traveling shows the Moor was portrayed without the
customary makeup.  More recently (1998) Patrick Stewart played the part in
white-face, so to speak. The Lawrence Fishburn Othello is the only one that
I know of that has portrayed the character as an African.
Best,
Bill
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "PJ Ladd" <pj.ladd at btopenworld.com>
To: "Mike Durham" <mikedurham_jazz at hotmail.com>
Cc: "jazz" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 9:43 AM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Interesting article on new
performancesofMinstrelShows


> ``a lot! - of the early stuff is
> really offensive to modern ears,``
> Hi,
> the trouble is that we have been told that it is offensive. In general the
> terms were not used offensively. When I was a kid `nigger` was usually no
> more than a description. `That nigger guy` was used in exactly the same
way
> as `That American guy` or ` that tall guy`. I had `nigger brown` in my
paint
> box, a nigger head was a cleat on a boat, a black dog or cat was often
> called `Nigger` and it was exactly the same usage as `Rover` or `Tiddles`,
> not denigrating in any way. Now we have arrived at the situation where I
> feel unhappy even typing the word.
> It would be a shame if such a rich seam of musical history was barred to
us
> because the usage of words has changed or visually because it is
> unacceptable to `black up`.
>
> I dont think we have had a white Othello yet but you never know.
>
> Cheers
>
> Pat
>
>
>
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