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emma7stirling's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
paul_viaf's review against another edition
4.0
Searing racial commentary on the adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello. Glares into the iris of the white gaze and courageously seeks to shrug off the distorted and confining perception. One begins to feel the pulsing headache that emerges from a double consciousness that disavows all forms of the marginalized being. One sees Othello through his own eyes and the eyes of his brethren. An extension to Othello is sent. One that wishes to save him from the fate which eviscerates the role he seeks so desperately to inhabit. The writing and social commentary within this play are spectacular.
goosemixtapes's review against another edition
5.0
You are afraid of me. I am afraid that nothing will ever change.
holy FUCK this is a stunning piece of theater & literature alike. this play is so sharply alive, dancing from shakespearean dialect to colloquialism in a breath, and it’s simultaneously so angry and so optimistic, and it’s a stunning piece of art about the complexities of a black man’s love for shakespeare, and i kind of want to copy-paste every single line into this review to make you understand how good it is, but i can’t do that, so you’ll just have to read it yourself please god please if you've ever read a shakespeare
streamwall's review against another edition
4.0
"He is no kin to you, rather he is the child of one who could have had no love for you."
danmacha18's review against another edition
4.0
I recently finished reading Othello for a University Shakespeare class. What was made quite clear from the beginning of Othello was the obvious role that race plays within the novel. Othello is a Moor. Everyone else is Italian. And with the eventual tragic actions that Othello performs within that play make it even more about race, particularly for anyone who is reading the play in the United States. Why the U.S. you might ask? Oh, because we have - since before this nation was a nation - systemically enslaved or hindered the freedom of men and women because of their blackness.
However, reading Othello in a modern setting is problematic like most of Shakespeare’s plays because it’s Shakespeare. The Bard himself. And even if you can comfortably read Early Modern English, you have to overcome the intimidation factor that exists because it is Shakespeare. So, it’s quite too easily to allow our understanding of race to seep through this play unchecked, which is where American Moor comes in.
American Moor isn’t directly about Othello but the thoughts and experiences of a black, male actor auditioning to a white, male director for the role of Othello. And because of this dynamic, Othello can be updated and better understood within our current historical context. Now, instead of Othello being some cruel, mindless wife-murderer, we can see him as something heroic, something misunderstood, something relevant.
And I greatly appreciate that. I appreciate seeing actors modernize and diversify Shakespeare. I appreciate seeing Shakespeare belonging to other people beyond white, male academics. And ultimately, I appreciate the rawness that Keith Cobb brings to this plays as well as the structure that he decided to incorporate it into.
Drama never is as good on the page as it is on the stage, and I would love to see this performed live.
However, reading Othello in a modern setting is problematic like most of Shakespeare’s plays because it’s Shakespeare. The Bard himself. And even if you can comfortably read Early Modern English, you have to overcome the intimidation factor that exists because it is Shakespeare. So, it’s quite too easily to allow our understanding of race to seep through this play unchecked, which is where American Moor comes in.
American Moor isn’t directly about Othello but the thoughts and experiences of a black, male actor auditioning to a white, male director for the role of Othello. And because of this dynamic, Othello can be updated and better understood within our current historical context. Now, instead of Othello being some cruel, mindless wife-murderer, we can see him as something heroic, something misunderstood, something relevant.
And I greatly appreciate that. I appreciate seeing actors modernize and diversify Shakespeare. I appreciate seeing Shakespeare belonging to other people beyond white, male academics. And ultimately, I appreciate the rawness that Keith Cobb brings to this plays as well as the structure that he decided to incorporate it into.
Drama never is as good on the page as it is on the stage, and I would love to see this performed live.
spierce44's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0