Stage manager notes would help clarify staging. Kept from a 5 because of the density and the brevity. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. 1, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Desdemona_(play)&oldid=966004635, Articles with dead external links from November 2019, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 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 - 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 16–19, 2015 - Southbank Theatre, Melbourne, Australia, April 16, 2019 - Sanders Theater, Cambridge, MA, This page was last edited on 4 July 2020, at 18:22. ), i usually write very punchy one-sentence reviews intended to be humorous, but i cant do that here. But I did enjoy seeing an old work through new eyes, though. What I really wish is that she had used a longer form-narrative poem or novel. I appreciate the insights this text offers into the character Desdemona but I'm not quite sure I would call it a play. It was first produced in Vienna in May 2011. i am definitely going to have to reread this several times but there is something stunning here. The story of Desdemona from Shakespeare's Othello is re-imagined by Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison, Malian singer and songwriter Rokia Traoré, and acclaimed stage director Peter Sellars. Morrison's response to Sellars’ 2009 production of Othello is an intimate dialogue of words and music between Desdemona and her African nurse Barbary. The words of Emilia and SaRan especially shined a new light on Desdemona and her place in Venetian society, Shakespeares play, and this text. [1] The title character of the play is Desdemona, the wife of the title character in Shakespeare's Othello. I'm sure we miss a lot by just reading it without hearing what appears to be significant musical accompaniment, but fans of Morrison won't want to miss out. Last year in London, I was bowled over by Euripides’ Medea, adapted for the National Theatre by Ben Powers. Definitely made me look at Shakespeare's Othello in a different light. In William Shakespeare's Othello, Desdemona is beautiful and young, but also enigmatic: one cannot know exactly why she rejects her numerous Venetian suitors to marry the Moor. Far more experimental than my normal read but I really enjoyed this one. Reading Toni Morrison 2020 - Bonus read. Toni Morrison says the most important thing in writing Desdemona was to remove Iago's 'white male gaze'. Desdemona is a collaboration among writer Toni Morrison, theater director Peter Sellars, and musician Rokia Traoré. Side Bar of Aqua. Context / Reception: The story goes that Toni Morrison and Peter Sellars (who is an experimental theater director) got into an argument about Othello – Sellars said it had outlived its usefulness and Morrison said he was wrong. Unfortunately, the dramatic action suffers a lot from the heavy amount of exposition throughout the text. All three plays have highly divergent interpretations of the character of Desdemona. I was wary, as I have a checkered history with Toni Morrisons novels, but this short dramatic piece is revelatory. Credit: New York Times "I was moving down the street – sometimes slowly but, if … The story of Desdemona from Shakespeare's Othello is re-imagined by Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison, Malian singer and songwriter Rokia Traoré, and acclaimed stage director Peter Sellars. We’d love your help. She had a song of “Willow,” An old thing ’twas, but it expressed her fortune And she died singing it. However, I think it lost a lot of its impact because - as a play - it was designed to be performed, rather than read and I read it. It's a brilliant but underdeveloped response to Shakespeare's most troubling play. Paul Rae will chair After Tragedy, Listening: A roundtable response to Toni Morrison’s Desdemona on … Desdemona is a play by Toni Morrison. Othello and Iago's "secret," Desdemona's Barbary, these additions to Othello both increase and decrease the agency of the women. i know this work has value and i want to hear what my Black peers have to say about it, because i know. Challenges: May 2020 - 21/31 books. However, I think it lost a lot of its impact because - as a play - it was designed to be performed, rather than read and I read it. Not my fave, but it has a great quote: We will be judged by how well we love. At first glance, Morrison's response to Sellars and Shakespeare is a provocative though unnececessary sequel. Short but good commentary and savage burns. Start by marking “Desdemona” as Want to Read: Error rating book. An interesting adaptation but it definitely not a closet drama, I think it would work much better in performance! Morrison gives voice and depth to the … tags: judgement, love. This reimagining of Desdemona (from Othello) was interesting with race, class and gender all featuring prominently. She is 'playing in the light,' as it turns out. Morrison presents a morality piece and introduces a preferable defense for the noble General's brutal reaction to warnings from his trusted ensign. Be the first to ask a question about Desdemona. Lacks the drive of a well crafted plot. Desdemona and Othello come to terms in the place of undeath and Desdemona understands her participation in her murder. I think this is a play that must be seen to be truly treasured and understood. [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]. A beautiful collaboration with Toni Morrison (writer), Rokia Traore (Mali musician/composer) and Peter Sellars (director). In this collaborative effort, Morrison gives Desdemona from Othello, a more deserving titular role. Desdemona is a play by Toni Morrison. In the case of Toni Morrison's Desdemona; misery is the curse for having but one life after gaining wisdom in death. Desdemona is a play that first debuted at Theater Akzent in Vienna, Austria in 2011 and published in 2012 by Oberon Books. 504 Angela Street. Othello and Iago's "secret," Desdemona's Barbary, these additions to Othello both increase and decrease the agency of the women. 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