PRINCIPAL CAST: Simon Russell Beale (Iago); Maureen Beattie (Emilia); David Harewood (Othello); Claire Skinner (Desdemona); Colin Tierney (Cassio).

David Harewood was the first black actor to play Othello at the National Theatre.

The production premiered at the Salzburg Festival on 22 August 1997, where it played in a converted salt factory for 4 days before opening in the Cottesloe Theatre on 16 September. It then went on a world tour before re-opening in the Lyttelton in 1998 with the same cast. The venues it visited abroad included:

Herberger Theatre, Phoenix, Arizona, USA as part of the UK/AZ Festival

Dramatychny Theatre, Warsaw, Poland

Ginza Saison Theatre, Tokyo, Japan

Seoul Arts Centre, Korea

The Academy of Performing Arts, as part of the Hong Kong Arts Festival

The Drama Academy, Beijing, China

State Opera House, Wellington, as part of New Zealand's International Festival of the Arts

Majestic Theatre, Adelaide Festival, Australia

Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, USA