Desdemona (play)

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Desdemona
Desdemona oberon play cover.jpg
First edition
AuthorToni Morrison
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenrePlay
PublisherOberon Books
Publication date
19 July 2012
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages64 pp (Paperback edition)
ISBN978-1-849-43389-1 (Paperback edition)
OCLC808600872

Desdemona is a play by Toni Morrison. It was first produced in Vienna in May 2011.[1] The title character of the play is Desdemona, the wife of the title character in Shakespeare's Othello.[2] The 2011 play arose from a collaboration between Morrison, director Peter Sellars, and musician Rokia Traoré, and revolves around Desdemona's relationship with the African nurse who raised her.[3][4][5][6][7]

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, and Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (1988) by Ann-Marie MacDonald. All three plays have highly divergent interpretations of the character of Desdemona.

The official playscript of Desdemona was published in 2012 by Oberon Books, with a foreword written by the director Peter Sellars.[8]

Performances[]

  • May 15, 17-21, 2011 - Theater Akzent - Vienna, Austria[9]
  • May 26–29, 2011 - Theatre Royal Flamand (KVS) - Brussels, Belgium[10]
  • October 13–21, 2011 - Nanterre-Amandiers theatre, Nanterre, France[11]
  • October 26–29, 2011 - Zellerbach Playhouse, Berkeley, United States[12]
  • November 2–3, 2011 - Rose Theater - New York, United States[13]
  • November 10–12, 2011 - Haus der Berliner Festspiele - Berlin, Germany[14]
  • July 2012 - Barbican Centre - London, England[15][16]
  • June 11-13 2013 - Holland Festival, Amsterdam, The Netherlands[17]
  • 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[18]
  • October 16–19, 2015 - Southbank Theatre, Melbourne, Australia[19]
  • April 16, 2019 - Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA [20]

References[]

  1. ^ Sciolino, Elaine (25 October 2011). "'Desdemona' Talks Back to 'Othello'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  2. ^ Sciolino, Elaine (2011-10-25). "Toni Morrison's 'Desdemona' and Peter Sellars's 'Othello'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  3. ^ Barchfield, Jenny (14 October 2011). "Oppressed voices ring out in Morrison's 'Othello'". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2011-10-30.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Swed, Mark (28 October 2011). "Music theater review: Peter Sellars' 'Desdemona' at Berkeley". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  5. ^ Winn, Steven (20 October 2011). "Toni Morrison adds twist to 'Desdemona'". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  6. ^ Serinus, Jason Victor (26 October 2011). "Desdemona's Riveting Multi-Dimensional Truths". Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  7. ^ Thiessen, Erin Russell (26 May 2011). "Toni Morrison's Desdemona delivers a haunting, powerful "re-membering"". Retrieved 2011-10-20.
  8. ^ Morrison, Toni (2012-07-18). Desdemona. Oberon Books. ISBN 9781849436359.
  9. ^ "Theater Akzent - Vienna, Austria".
  10. ^ "Theatre Royal Flamand (KVS) - Brussels, Belgium". Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  11. ^ "Desdemona • Nanterre-Amandiers". www.nanterre-amandiers.com (in French). Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  12. ^ "Zellerbach Playhouse, Berkeley, United States".
  13. ^ "Rose Theater - New York, United States".
  14. ^ "Haus der Berliner Festspiele - Berlin, Germany".
  15. ^ "Barbicon Centre - London, England". Archived from the original on 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  16. ^ "Year of Shakespeare: Desdemona - Blogging Shakespeare". Blogging Shakespeare. 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  17. ^ PODIUMKUNSTENFESTIVAL, INTERNATIONAAL. "Programma 2018". www.hollandfestival.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  18. ^ "Toni Morrison's 'Desdemona,' directed by Peter Sellars".
  19. ^ "Melbourne Festival 2015". Archived from the original on 2015-10-17. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
  20. ^ https://www.facebook.com/events/356341841646325/
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