Othello
- Summary
- This BBC Television production of Othello, directed by Tony Richardson and starring Gordon Heath as Othello, Rosemary Harris as Desdemona and Paul Rogers as Iago, is the earliest production of Shakespeare on British television to be extant. The first 25 mins, set in Venice, were filmed, and the remainder, set in Cyprus, was shown live.
- Theatre play
- Othello by William Shakespeare [more information]
- Date of transmission
- Thursday 15 December 1955
- Time
- 7.30pm (120 mins)
- Channel
- BBC Television
- Production company
- BBC
Credits
- Director
- Tony Richardson
- Playwright
- William Shakespeare
- Composer
- Leonard Chase
- Composer
- Tony Richardson
- Designer
- Reece Pemberton
- Cast
Daphne Anderson Emilia Brenda Bennett Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Joby Blanshard Third Gentleman Anthony Broughton Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot James Bulloch Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Margaret Butt Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Fanny Carby Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Robert Checksfield Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Jefferson Clifford Second Senator George A. Cooper Herald Harry Cordwell Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Jon Curle Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Stephen Dartnell Sailor Nigel Davenport Lodovico Howell Davies Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Leon Eagles Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Christopher Fettes Messenger Dudley Foster Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot William Gaskill Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Kim Grant Messenger Keith Greene Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Ron Haddrick Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Robert Hardy Cassio Rosemary Harris Desdemona Gordon Heath (1918-1991) Othello Richard Holden Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Patrick Horgan Second Gentleman Richard Huggett Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Randal Kinkead Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Angela Krefeld Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Jacqueline Lacey Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Eugene Leahy Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot John MacGregor Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot James Maxwell Roderigo Kevin Miles First Gentleman Patrick Milner Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Brian Moorehead Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Paul Rogers Iago Clive Roslin Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Milton Rosmer Gratiano Frank Royde First Senator George Skillan Duke of Venice John Southworth Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Nicholas Tanner Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Anthony Twite Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Paul Vieyra Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Peter Welch First Officer Billie Whitelaw Bianca Edmund Willard Brabantio Casper Wrede Soldier, Citizen, Sailor or Cypriot Patrick Wymark Montano
Additional details
- Later transmissions
- 8.00-10.00pm, Thursday 14 June 1956.
- Notes
- The names of actors in main roles have been double-checked against the credits in the BBC viewing copy.
- Play tags
- class issues / differences; race relations; tragedy
Audiovisual sources
- Title
- Othello (BBC, 1955)
- Archive
- BBC Information and Archives [more information]
Address
White City
Telephone
London
UK+44 (0)20 8008 2288
Websitehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/informationandarchives/
AccessBBC Information and Archives is not open to the public.
- Title
- Othello (BBC, 1955)
- Archive
- BFI Research Viewing Service [more information]
Address
21 Stephen Street
Telephone
London
W1T 1LN
UK+44 (0)20 7957 4726
EmailUse the contact form at http://www.bfi.org.uk/form/contact-research-viewing-services
Websitehttp://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services
AccessThe Research Viewing Service is available to non-commercial researchers and to students wishing to view research related material. It allows access to all films and videos designated as ‘viewing copies’ in the BFI National Archive. Viewings take place by appointment, between 10.30am and 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. Charges apply: please see the website for further details.
Print sources
- Title
- Aspicks’ Tongues (Newspaper review)
- Author/creator
- Maurice Richardson (Reviewer)
- Reference
- The Observer, 18 December 1955, p. 9
- Title
- Blackleg! (Magazine review)
- Author/creator
- Philip Hope-Wallace (Reviewer)
- Reference
- The Listener, 22 December 1955, p. 1099
- Linking notes
- with b&w image of a scene from the production
- Title
- Othello (BBC, 1955) (Blog article)
- Author/creator
- John Wyver (Author)
- Reference
- http://screenplaystv.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/othello-bbc-1955, 2 March 2012
- Title
- Radio Times, 9 December 1955 (Magazine)
- Linking notes
- image on front cover, and article and listing on pp. 5, 38-39
- Title
- Shakespeare on Television: Othello (Newspaper review)
- Reference
- The Times, 16 December 1955, p. 5
Record Stats
This record has been viewed 335 times.