Othello, 1961, Royal Shakespeare Company: Othello, John Gielgud; Desdemona, Dorothy Tutin.

Othello: Director & Designer, Franco Zeffirelli: Photographer, Tom Holte (ahds.ac.uk/performing arts); Royal Shakespeare Company), October 1961.

"There are flags and banners, piles of books, trunks and chests, rolls of carpet, jewel boxes, documents and maps, more steps than Odessa ever dreamed of, stone walls that certainly do a prison make, sticks of sealing wax, a backdrop after Veronese and bronze doors a long way after Ghiberti; and 70 times 7 pillars without a drop of wisdom." Bernard Levin, Daily Express 11.10.61 Opening Date: 10 October 1961, Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Zeffirelli excells in evoking the opulence of Italy and the Levant, providing visual parallels to the exotic qualities already present through Shakespeare's imagery. HM