# Brushing up on my Shakespeare **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375 "2016-08-20T03:11:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/61 "2016-08-22T01:29:12Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/62 "2016-08-22T01:37:52Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Certainly, but for several years now no respectable production has cast an Othello who looked anything other than sub-Saharan, or at least of partial sub-Saharan heritage. It’s just the societal consensus (though no doubt that will change as the decades go by). Interesting. I had always assumed this went back to James Earl Jones, who first performed the role in 1964, but I see now it seems to have started with Paul Robeson in 1930: > **[Paul Robeson in Othello, Savoy Theatre, 1930](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2003/sep/03/theatre)** > > Paul Robeson is the first black actor to attempt Othello in a century, at the Savoy Theatre on March 19 1930. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/63 "2016-08-22T23:13:01Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Interesting. I had always assumed this went back to James Earl Jones, who first performed the role in 1964, but I see now it seems to have started with Paul Robeson in 1930: > > [Paul Robeson in Othello, Savoy Theatre, 1930 | Theatre | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2003/sep/03/theatre) Well, as the article acknowledges, only in the US. The black American actor [Ira Aldridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Aldridge) had played Othello throughout Europe, starting in London, in the 19th century. (His performance is one of the ten singled out in the current major British Library exhibition [Shakespeare in Ten Acts](http://www.bl.uk/press-releases/2016/april/shakespeare-in-ten-acts-opens-at-the-british-library). The same section of the exhibition covers Robeson, including a striking letter written by Olivier in the early Sixties declining to support a UK campaign for him to be issued with a US passport so that he could come over and play Othello in the West End; Larry admits that this is because he rather fancies a go at the role himself.) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/64 "2016-08-23T20:05:59Z")
The Olivier Othello remains rather controversial, as he definitely went for a stereotypical appearance and voice–no Northern Africa in it; very sub-Saharan. I believe it was Pauline Kael’s review of the movie made of the play that dwelled on his “rolling buttocks” (or at least that’s what’s stuck in my memory, wish though I might to dislodge it). The movie is well worth a viewing, with young Maggie Smith very dewy, and the reliable Frank Finley assaying Iago. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/65 "2016-08-23T21:43:07Z")
There’s an old BBC version of As You Like It on Youtube, with a VERY young Helen Mirren. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0fehH\_LX\_Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0fehH_LX_Q) Much more recently, they did an African version of Julius Caesar, of which there are some clips also on Youtube. In fact, there’s an awful lot of Shakespeare on Youtube alone. I quite enjoyed the Branagh movie of Love’s Labours Lost, but I have no idea if that’s widely available. PS: as for Judi Dench in her youth, try Youtube for her Sally Bowles (a pirate video that would have been frowned on at the time, but is now precious), and one of her earliest TV roles in “Talking To A Stranger” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2bqujq1Qxs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2bqujq1Qxs) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhfxQLt-L5s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhfxQLt-L5s) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/66 "2016-08-23T23:13:01Z")
You might also try Audio-books. Or a graphic Novel– > **[Amazon.com: Twelfth Night: a Shakespeare transgender play: 9780942208337:...](https://www.amazon.com/Twelfth-Night-Shakespeare-transgender-play/dp/0942208331)** > > Amazon.com: Twelfth Night: a Shakespeare transgender play: 9780942208337: Shakespeare, William, Newborn, Sasha: Books _The Twelfth Night_ is my favorite. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/67 "2016-08-24T00:04:24Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > The Olivier Othello remains rather controversial, as he definitely went for a stereotypical appearance and voice–no Northern Africa in it; very sub-Saharan. I believe it was Pauline Kael’s review of the movie made of the play that dwelled on his “rolling buttocks” (or at least that’s what’s stuck in my memory, wish though I might to dislodge it). > > The movie is well worth a viewing, with young Maggie Smith very dewy, and the reliable Frank Finley assaying Iago. I’d take "rather controversial” as a bit of a given in this context. (That’s really rather why his attempt to block Robeson in the early Sixties, on those particular grounds, is inadvertantly funny.) Google isn’t throwing up anything useful, but isn’t the usual story that Olivier claimed (dodgily) to have based his accent on that of a particular Jamaician London bus driver? Having seen the film version fairly recently, it’s surely only of interest as a record of what the stage production had been like. It’s not my observation, but Maggie Smith seems to spend the entire runtime worrying that Olivier’s make-up is going to smear against her white gowns. While the late Frank Finley, doing the naturalistic Iago against them both, completely walks away with it. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/68 "2016-08-24T00:14:16Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > There’s an old BBC version of As You Like It on Youtube, with a VERY young Helen Mirren. > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0fehH\_LX\_Q](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0fehH_LX_Q) I was looking for something else on the Internet today, and by accident came across some photos of her when she was young. My God, she was hot then too (and still is)!!! :o ---
**Author:** ![HyacinthBucket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hyacinthbucket/32/3063_2.png) [@HyacinthBucket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HyacinthBucket)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/69 "2016-08-25T19:43:14Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > As an aside, her scream is the ringtone I have tied to my mother’s phone number. DAMN, you owe me a fresh box of Screen Wipes. :rolleyes: I’ll add one more recommendation for **The Hollow Crown**. Tom Hiddleston’s Henry was excellent and almost made me forget how much I dislike the character of Falstaff. But Ben Whishaw’s Richard II was AMAZING. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/70 "2016-08-25T20:50:39Z")
> [@HyacinthBucket](#): > > DAMN, you owe me a fresh box of Screen Wipes. :rolleyes: > > I’ll add one more recommendation for **The Hollow Crown**. Tom Hiddleston’s Henry was excellent and almost made me forget how much I dislike the character of Falstaff. But Ben Whishaw’s Richard II was AMAZING. Richard II is the one everyone talks about. I don’t really love the play, but this version gets so much buzz I’m going to have to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2016, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/71 "2016-08-25T22:38:24Z")
> [@bonzer](#): > > …Google isn’t throwing up anything useful, but isn’t the usual story that Olivier claimed (dodgily) to have based his accent on that of a particular Jamaican London bus driver? … You know, that does sound familiar. There was a somewhat passive-aggressive bio of Olivier by a woman who had worked for him, published some years ago, that I have around the place somewhere; it’s possible that she’s the source. I’ll come up with the name and post it when time permits. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/72 "2016-08-26T14:38:18Z")
For a laugh, check out the episode of MST3K with Maximilian Schell’s 1960 German TV version of “Hamlet” (dubbed back into proper Shakespeare). I think it’s still available on Hulu Plus, but if not, it should be on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/73 "2016-08-26T15:42:42Z")
[_Brush Up Your Shakespeare_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJIpp2Jj8AQ)😃 ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/74 "2016-08-26T15:53:15Z")
The first cycle of The Hollow Crown (Richard II, Henry IV, Part I and Henry IV, Part II and Henry V) was good - can’t wait for the next one (Henry VI, Part I, Henry VI, Part II, Henry VI, Part III and Richard III) to air. I’m a Richard III nut. > **[The Hollow Crown (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hollow_Crown_(TV_series))** > > The Hollow Crown is a series of British television film adaptations of William Shakespeare's history plays. > The first series is an adaptation of Shakespeare's second historical tetralogy, the Henriad: Richard II, Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V, starring Ben Whishaw, Jeremy Irons and Tom Hiddleston. Olivier Award winners Rupert Goold, Richard Eyre and Thea Sharrock directed the telefilms, which were produced by Rupert Ryle-Hodges for BBC Two and executive produced by Sam Mendes ... ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/75 "2016-08-26T16:42:12Z")
> [@Katriona](#): > > The first cycle of The Hollow Crown (Richard II, Henry IV, Part I and Henry IV, Part II and Henry V) was good - can’t wait for the next one (Henry VI, Part I, Henry VI, Part II, Henry VI, Part III and Richard III) to air. I’m a Richard III nut. > > [The Hollow Crown (TV series) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hollow_Crown_(TV_series)) The Henry VI plays are pretty dire though. They are the reason everyone hates the history plays. But again, Richard II, so maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375/76 "2016-08-26T22:26:52Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > You know, that does sound familiar. There was a somewhat passive-aggressive bio of Olivier by a woman who had worked for him, published some years ago, that I have around the place somewhere; it’s possible that she’s the source. I’ll come up with the name and post it when time permits. I haven’t found my copy (and I hope I do as it’s out of print), but the book I was thinking of was published in 1969: _Cry God for Larry_ (you can see what she did, there!), by Virginia Fairweather. Don’t know if she mentions the bus conductor story. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brushing-up-on-my-shakespeare/763375.md?page=3)