Staging Othello in apartheid South Africa

In September 1987, Othello was staged at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg during the apartheid regime in South Africa. The Immorality Act, which banned sexual relationships between white people and non-white people, had been repealed in 1985. But the Shakespeare play was controversial, especially the scene where the black actor, John Kani, kissed the white actress playing his wife. The play was directed by South African born actress Dame Janet Suzman, who looks back on the remarkable story. Produced by Jen Dale.

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(Photo: Joanna Weinberg, left, Richard Haines, rear centre, and John Kani, right, performing Othello. Credit: Ruphin Coudyzer/AP)