Othello

Synopsis
Full-length radio adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy produced by Val Gielgud. The script of the broadcast has been edited by M. R. Ridley who also introduces the broadcast. With Jack Hawkins, Margaret Leighton, John Clements and Fay Compton. Duncan Carse narrates.
The performance is preceded by an introduction which enlarges on the question of Iago’s motives and designs and dramatic devices such as the double time scheme in order to guarantee, in the narrator’s words, the " full appreciation of a play which ... is by common consent the most tense and painfully exciting".
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Radio
Recording date
4 Jul 1948
Transmission details
27 Mar 1949 at 18:00 (Channel: BBC Third Programme)
Duration
125 mins
Availability
No archive copy known

Credits

Producer
Val Gielgud
Writer
William Shakespeare
Adaptor for Radio
Maurice Roy Ridley
Cast
Jack HawkinsOthello
Margaret LeightonDesdemona
John ClementsIago
Geoffrey KeenMichael Cassio
Fay ComptonEmilia
Arthur RidleySenator
Basil Jones 
Bryan PowleySenator
Charles LenoClown
Cyril Gardiner 
Duncan CarseNarrator
Edward ForsythMontano
Frederick LloydBrabantio
Heron CarvicRoderigo
Hugh ManningHerald
James CarneyLodovico
James WoodburnDuke of Venice
Jane CottonBianca
John ProbertGratiano
Ronald Sidney 

Additional Details

Production type
Television and Radio Drama
Plays
Macbeth; Othello
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes
A BBC recording.
General
Rehearsals: 30/6/1948-4/7/1948
History
Broadcast in two parts. Part 1: 18.00-19.45, Part 2: 20.00-21.20.
Textual information
A written transcript of the production is held at the Birmingham Central Library as part of their Shakespeare Collection.
Reviews
According to reviewer Philip Hope-Wallace, this production was given "a dignified, clear reading. John Clements was a basso Iago, Mephistophelean and unsubtle to a point where ... one lost the sense of the lines. Jack Hawkins was noble, without whining, and made shift to put the big rages through the fine sieve of the microphone... .Margaret Leighton and Fay Compton sounded expert" ('The Pachyderm Reproved’ by Philip Hope-Wallace, The Listener, Vol. 41, 31 March 1949, p. 551).

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Othello". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av66724 (Accessed 06 Dec 2024)