Marquee TV, the global streaming service for the arts, has announced David Harewood, Caitlin Fitzgerald (SUCCESSION, MASTERS OF SEX), and Toby Jones’ new landmark production of Othello will stream exclusively in the UK, US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Korea on Marquee TV from 1 May 2026.
In 1997, David Harewood made history as the first Black actor to play Othello at the National Theatre, London.
In this new, landmark production of Othello, David Harewood reprises his historic role three decades on in an acclaimed performance filmed live at Theatre Royal Haymarket in London.
Olivier, BAFTA Award-winning actor Toby Jones OBE stars as Iago. One of Britain’s best-loved character actors, Jones is best-known for his roles as Lance stater in DETECTORISTS, Alan Bates in MR BATES VS THE POST OFFICE, Dobby in the HARRY POTTER films, Claudius Templesmith in THE HUNGER GAMES, and Arnim Zola in the CAPTAIN AMERICA films.
Othello is Shakespeare’s only play with a black lead, but for centuries directors cast white actors in blackface for the role. On his historic 1997 performance Harewood reflects: “I was trying to de-blackface the whole character.”
Othello is directed by Tom Morris OBE, the Tony Award-winning director behind War Horse, and features music from alternative music icon PJ Harvey.
Also starring are American actor Caitlin Fitzgerald (MASTERS OF SEX, SUCCESSION) as Desdemona, British Independent Film Award-winner Vinette Robinson (BOILING POINT, BLACK MIRROR, DOCTOR WHO) who plays Amelia in her West End debut, and Olivier Award-winner Luke Treadaway (A STREET CAT NAMED BOB) as Cassio.
David Harewood said: “I got a phone call from my agent, ‘would David have any desire to play Othello again?’ As soon as she mentioned it, a lightbulb went on. I was so young when I played it before, so I thought let me give it another crack. I was just far more familiar than when I was younger with the emotional toll of the pain and loss of love. As an older man, I found that so much more painful.”
Caitlin Fitzgerald said: “Shakespeare gives Amelia in this play some really proto-feminist language that is so extraordinary.” Vinette Robinson, who plays Amelia, adds: “The speech Amelia has in the willow scene is one of the most incredible feminist speeches Shakespeare wrote, however many hundreds of years ago, that is still relevant today. So, what Shakespeare is incredible at is understanding human nature which is why we’re still performing him now.”
