Moor of Venice cast as black lesbian for first time in 'misogynoir' interpretation of Othello by The Royal Shakespeare Company

By KRISTINA WEMYSS, GENERAL NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:10, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 16:18, 1 July 2026 It is a role that any actor would become a green ey’d monster over, played by the likes of Laurence Olivier and James Earl Jones. But the latest portrayal of Shakespeare’s Moor of Venice - reimagined as a lesbian - has caused quite a stir. Sharon D Clarke, 59, best known for her roles in Holby City and Doctor Who, has been cast as the tragic hero of Othello. And not only has the Royal Shakespeare Company included a modern take on the lead, but the production will also be set in a ‘climate-threatened future’. In the 400-year-old play, Othello, a black military leader, secretly marries the Venetian beauty Desdemona, only to be tricked by his sub-ordinate Iago into believing that she has been disloyal. Othello becomes consumed with jealousy against his innocent wife, which leads to tragic consequences. The first actor cast in the role was Richard Burbage, a member of the King’s Men theatre company, for which Shakespeare wrote many plays. It was not until 1825 that a black actor, Ira Aldridge, played the title role. His was a landmark performance that helped pave the way for generations of performers, despite calls for the production to be boycotted. Sharon D Clarke is a three-time Olivier award winner, with West End credits including We Will Rock You and Ghost The Musical Figaro, a satirical 19th-century publication, urged readers to ‘drive [Aldridge] from the stage’ that he was ‘about to defile’. Since then, Othello has been played by actors including Paul Robeson, James Earl Jones, Laurence Fishburne and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Historically, the role was frequently played by white actors doing blackface. Laurence Olivier’s portrayal - first on stage at the National Theatre in 1964 and immortalised in the 1965 film adaptation - was one of the most heavily criticised in Shakespearean history. His affected African-Caribbean accent and heavy blackface garnered comparisons to an old-fashioned minstrel show. The upcoming production will be directed by Monique Touko, and will reimagine the story through the lens of ‘misogynoir’ - the combination of anti-black racism and misogyny. RSC artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey said: ‘We want to ensure that as many people as possible feel welcome at the RSC through the stories we choose to tell and the artists who tell them, re-examining 400-year-old texts through an urgent new lens.’ Ms Clarke is a three-time Olivier award winner, with West End credits including We Will Rock You and Ghost The Musical. Born in London to Jamaican parents who arrived as part of the Windrush generation, she has previously criticised the lack of opportunities for black performers in British television, revealing she was repeatedly typecast as a nurse early in her career before refusing to audition for such roles. She later broke barriers by playing consultant Dr Lola Griffin in Holby City and became British television's first black female lead detective in Ellis. The RSC production will run from February 13 to April 3 next year. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.