Learn about the history of Shakespeare's 'Othello' in London

The gripping tragedy is returning to London in a new West End production, starring David Harewood, Toby Jones, and Caitlin FitzGerald.

Summary

• David Harewood and Toby Jones are leading a new West End production of 'Othello'
• The play has a long and storied history in London with past productions featuring Ian McKellen and Adrian Lester
• Harewood first played Othello almost 30 years ago at the National Theatre

Shakespeare’s explosive portrait of jealousy is returning to the West End with an all-star cast. Tom Morris’s new production of Othello stars David Harewood, Toby Jones, Caitlin FitzGerald, Vinette Robinson, and Luke Treadaway, in a contemporary spin on the enduring classic.

The plot follows the “Moor”, Othello, a general who has secretly married Desdemona, daughter of senator Brabantio. His resentful fellow officer Iago, who has been passed over for promotion in favour of Othello’s lieutenant Cassio, plots revenge. Iago makes Othello suspicious that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio, a lie with horrific, deadly consequences.

Othello continues to be a favourite with both directors and audiences, thanks to its vivid characters – including one of Shakespeare’s most memorable villains – and richly resonant subjects, such as racial prejudice, toxic masculinity, justice, desire, and treachery.

Look back at some of the landmark London productions of the play ahead of your trip to see this exciting revival at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

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Globe Theatre (c. 1604)

Othello likely had its premiere at the Globe just before 1604, but we know for sure it played at Court for James I in that year. It was originally performed by company the King’s Men, with their star Richard Burbage winning universal praise for his playing of the title character. John Lowin was probably the original Iago.

Vere Street Theatre (1660)

Margaret Hughes made history as the first woman to perform on an English stage, and she was a sensation as Desdemona, performing with the King’s Company during the Restoration era. Her portrayal of the falsely accused heroine was much admired by diarist Samuel Pepys.

Savoy Theatre (1930)

Othello continued to be popular through the centuries, although the title role was usually taken by a white actor. In the 19th century Black actors Ira Aldridge and James Hewlett both played Othello, and in 1930 African-American actor Paul Robeson became a celebrated Othello, first in a London production with Peggy Ashcroft, Ralph Richardson and Sybil Thorndike, and later on Broadway.

National Theatre (1964)

White actors did still play Othello in the succeeding years, however, and Laurence Olivier famously took on the part (with dark make-up) at the National. The cast also featured Derek Jacobi, Maggie Smith and, as Iago, Frank Finlay. Olivier then led a filmed version in 1965 and was Oscar nominated.

Young Vic (1989)

Trevor Nunn’s production for the Royal Shakespeare Company, which began in Stratford and transferred to London, was led by Willard White as Othello, Ian McKellen as Iago, and Imogen Stubbs as Desdemona. McKellen’s sharply intelligent, terrifyingly inscrutable Iago was also captured on film the following year.

National Theatre (1997)

David Harewood first starred as Othello in Sam Mendes’s production: he was then the first Black actor to play the role at the National. Harewood was joined by Simon Russell Beale as a venomously cunning Iago; both actors exhibited the horrendous toll that the scheming and jealous madness took on them.

Trafalgar Studios (2004)

Gregory Doran cast two South African-born talents as his leads in this fascinating, politically charged RSC production: Antony Sher and Sello Maake ka-Ncube. He transposed the play to a clearly colonial mid-20th-century setting, and emphasised the racial discrimination baked into this society.

Donmar Warehouse (2008)

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Ewan McGregor co-starred in Michael Grandage’s gripping, eerily atmospheric production at the Donmar – and it was Ejiofor who ultimately stole the show from his more famous castmate. The strong company also included Kelly Reilly, Michelle Fairley, and, as Cassio, Tom Hiddleston.

National Theatre (2013)

Nicholas Hytner’s powerful production emphasised the military aspect of Shakespeare’s play – and placed it in an urgent modern context. Rory Kinnear’s Iago and Adrian Lester’s Othello (plus a young Jonathan Bailey) were jostling British squaddies in a recognisable barracks, Kinnear’s smiling sociopath all the more chilling for seeming so down-to-earth and believable.

Trafalgar Studios (2016)

Lenny Henry, who initially made his name as a comedian, surprised many when he made his Shakespeare debut by playing Othello in a Northern Broadsides production in 2009. He reprised the role in the West End in 2016, once again giving audiences an Othello of great dignity, magnetism, rage, and terrible pain.

National Theatre (2022)

Domestic violence and horrifying misogyny became the play’s focus in Clint Dyer’s searing, revelatory production. Although the male leads (Giles Terera and Paul Hilton) were still compelling, it was the abused women who really came to the fore: Rosy McEwen’s courageous Desdemona and Tanya Franks’s bruised, wrenching Emilia.

Shakespeare’s Globe (2024)

Othello had a compelling run in the Globe’s candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse space, with director Ola Ince turning it into a pointed contemporary story set in a toxic, racist and sexist version of the Metropolitan police force. She also gave Ken Nwosu’s Othello a second subconscious self (played by Ira Mandela Siobhan), expressing his inner torment.

Theatre Royal Haymarket (2025)

Othello is back in London – and David Harewood also returns, almost 30 years later, to tackle the title role once again. Harewood has said he’s now in a better position to explore his personal trauma and the “darker parts of my own psyche”.

He’s joined by the Olivier-winning Toby Jones (The Play What I Wrote, Mr Bates vs The Post Office), Caitlin FitzGerald (Masters of Sex, Succession), Vinette Robinson (Emilia, Sherlock), and Luke Treadaway (Olivier winner for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time). Tom Morris’s production also features music by PJ Harvey.

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Main photo credit: Othello 2025 (photo courtesy of the production). Inset: Othello 2025 cast in rehearsal, Ian McKellen in the filmed Othello, Rory Kinnear and Adrian Lester in Othello, Ken Nwosu and Ira Mandela Siobhan in Othello (photos courtesy of the production, courtesy of the film, by Johan Persson)