By Jamie Oberg
This story was updated on Dec. 14 at 7:32 PM.
An American playwright is trying to reframe Shakespeare’s “Othello,” centering Othello’s experiences.
Shakespeare’s play centers an African general who is tricked into thinking his wife has cheated on him. Keith Cobb wants to turn that narrative on its head.
“Untitled Othello” consists of approximately 70 hours of actors reading through the play in a non-performance setting. The unique part of this table read is that the lines deemed racist are removed or altered.
The process takes longer than a typical table read, given extra time for deep and oftentimes uncomfortable conversations about the text. Kim Coles’ “Race and the Cultural Politics of Blood: A Historical Perspective” class is part of this conversation.
The class examines concepts of race from three different historical periods through reading three classic texts according to Coles. The semester started with the original “Othello,” and it now ends by joining the table read and participating in Q&As with those in the “Untitled Othello” project.
Fifty-four separate bills were introduced across the United States between January and September 2021 with the goal of restricting what can be taught in schools, higher education and state agencies and institutions according to a report by PEN America. Most of the bills targeted discourse on race, gender and American history.
According to the report, Republican officials’ inaccurate depiction of critical race theory led to parents telling school boards which texts should and should not be taught. Cobb’s project brings a new option to the table for potentially inappropriate texts. He said texts that are harmful today should not just be read, but thought about and examined in a modern context.
“They’re not just putting a play on its feet. They’re understanding that in every incarnation, this story does work. It does political work. It informs how people view this topic,” Coles said. “Being aware of that as opposed to simply acting through a play text, it’s going to give it a whole new dimension.”
Jordan Newman, a junior in the class, said the project is essentially an extension of their prior textual explorations of racism.
“We should always be questioning the intentions of authors, interpreting the text, accounting for our context and their context,” said Newman, a government and politics major.
And that’s what “Untitled Othello” does.
Cobb said the project was an “organic manifestation” of his prior play, “American Moor.” That play showcased a Black actor auditioning for “Othello” and his experience being directed by a white man.
After “American Moor” finished its theater run, winning multiple awards — including Outstanding Solo Performance at the 2018 Elliot Norton Awards — Cobb said he got tired of people asking him if he would ever perform or direct “Othello.”
“We do not have the tools as an American society, blinded by our cultural and racial divisions, to attempt to do this play with any degree of wisdom or insight that would render anything other than a recycling of Shakespeare’s work,” he said.
According to Cobb, that work is filled with racist ideas, such as slurs and stereotypes, that have been perpetuated for hundreds of years exclusively because they are written by Shakespeare.
“Simply because it is Shakespeare,” Cobb said. “And Shakespeare is emblematic of the excellence of British, and therefore white, culture.”
But “Untitled Othello” does not just exist to examine the concept of race in the play. The project seeks to disrupt standard theater practices. Cobb’s project is not monetarily driven, according to its website, but is instead fueled by the goal of creating “more nourishing art.”
Newman said he thinks those goals, along with the very idea of reexamining a racist play, make it an impactful project.
“It’s about being dynamic and challenging orthodoxies,” Newman said. “By definition, that’s what art is.”
Featured image: Screenshot from a table reading of “Othello.” Photo by Jamie Oberg.
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