Editing Othello (section)

=== Restoration and 18th century ===

All theatres were closed down by the [[Puritan]] government on 6 September 1642. Upon the [[English Restoration|restoration]] of the monarchy in 1660, two [[patent theatre|patent companies]] (the [[King's Company]] and the [[Duke's Company]]) were established, and the existing theatrical repertoire divided between them: ''Othello'' being allocated to the King's Company's repertoire.<ref>Marsden, Jean I "Improving Shakespeare: from the Restoration to Garrick" in Wells, Stanley and Siddons, Sarah (eds.) "The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage", Cambridge University Press, 2002, pp.&nbsp;21–36, at p.&nbsp;21.</ref> These patents stated that "all the women's parts to be acted in either of the said two companies for the time to come may be performed by women". The first professional acting appearance by a woman on the English stage was that of Desdemona in ''Othello'' on 8 December 1660, although history does not record who took the role.<ref>Brown, John Russell "The Oxford Illustrated History of the Theatre", Oxford University Press, 1995, pp.&nbsp;206–207.</ref><ref>Gay, Penny "Women and Shakespearean Performance" in Wells, Stanley and Stanton, Sarah (eds.) "The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage" Cambridge University Press, 2002, pp.&nbsp;155–173, at p.&nbsp;157.</ref> [[Margaret Hughes]] is the first woman known to have played Desdemona.{{sfn|Honigmann|Thompson|2016|p=68}}

In Restoration theatres, it was common for Shakespeare's plays to be adapted or rewritten.<ref>Marsden, p.&nbsp;21. For examples see Wikipedia's articles on [[The Tempest#Restoration and 18th century|The Tempest]], [[Macbeth#Restoration and eighteenth century|Macbeth]] and [[King Lear#17th century|King Lear]].</ref> ''Othello'' was not adapted in this way, although it has often been cut to conform to current ideas of decorum or refinement.{{sfn|Honigmann|1997|p=90}} These cuts were not limited to removing violent, religious or sexual content, but extended on different occasions to removing references to eavesdropping, to Othello's fit, to Othello's tears, to the first 200 lines of the fourth act, or to the entire role of Bianca.{{sfn|Honigmann|1997|pp=90-92}}

Among seventeenth- and eighteenth-century actors praised for expressing the nobility of the Moor—and fully exploring the degrading passions which lead to the brutal murder he commits—were [[Thomas Betterton]] and [[Spranger Barry]].{{sfn|Muir|McAlindon|2015|pp=lxvi-lxvii}} A review of the latter by John Bernard expressed how Barry's Othello "looked a few seconds in Desdemona's face, as if to read her feelings and disprove his suspicions; then, turning away, as the adverse conviction gathered in his heart, he spoke falteringly, and gushed into tears."<ref>John Bernard in ''The Theatrical Review'' (1772) cited by McAlindon, 2005, p.lxvii.</ref>

The first professional performances of the play in North America are likely to have been those of the [[Old American Company|Hallam Company]]: Robert Upton ([[William Hallam (theatre manager)|William Hallam]]'s advance man) performed ''Othello'' at a makeshift theatre in New York on 26 December 1751; and religious objections to theatre led the Hallam Company to perform ''Othello'' as a series of "moral dialogues" at Rhode Island in 1761.<ref>Morrison, Michael A. "Shakespeare in North America" in Wells, Stanley and Stanton, Sarah (eds.) "The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage", Cambridge University Press, 2002, pp.&nbsp;230–258, at pp.&nbsp;231-232.</ref>

Although not performed in Portugal until the nineteenth century, the play holds of the distinction of being the first of Shakespeare's works to have reached a Portuguese-speaking country, possibly at the request of a Portuguese reader, in 1765.<ref>Stone, John (March 2024). "''Othello'' Goes to Lisbon, 1765". ''Notes and Queries''. https://doi.org/10.1093/notesj/gjae022</ref>