Moor and Moor: Othellos past, present and future

The reviews are in for Lenny Henry's Othello, one of the most eagerly anticipated portrayals of the Moor in recent years. Michael Billington praised the 'simple dignity' of his attempt as the 'treacherous volcanic mountain that is Othello'. But for Billington, Henry hasn't 'scaled its emotional peak' Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Paul Robeson was the first black actor to play Othello in an otherwise white cast on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1930 he performed in London with Peggy Ashcroft (left), to visibly shocked audiences. (They might have been even more scandalised if they had known that the two had been having an affair.) Photograph: Hulton Archive

Many white actors have played the role, including Orson Welles, who starred in a 1962 film version, and Laurence Olivier, shown here, who appeared in a long-running 1965 stage production, which also starred Maggie Smith. Olivier underwent special voice coaching for the part and came up with an 'exotic' accent of his own devising; many critics were appalled but the awards rolled in Photograph: Snap/Rex Features

In opera, even today, it is de rigueur for white actors to play black roles. Plácido Domingo, shown here in performance in 2001, reprised the role frequently, including in a Zeffirelli film of Verdi's classic adaptation in 1986 Photograph: Teatro alla Scala/EPA

A rather more intriguing way of addressing the play's questions about race is demonstrated here, in a Washington DC production from 1997. Patrick Stewart played the Moor in a so-called 'photonegative' production directed by Jude Kelly, the only white actor in an otherwise black cast Photograph: Carol Rosegg/AP

Chiwetel Ejiofor, above, acted opposite Ewan McGregor and Kelly Reilly at the Donmar Warehouse in 2007, winning (ironically enough) a Laurence Olivier award for his performance Photograph: Tristram Kenton/Guardian

Othello is the first dramatic role that Lenny Henry has played on stage. Talking to the Guardian during rehearsals, he admitted to nerves: 'There could not be any more shitting of self than there is going on at the moment' Photograph: Tristram Kenton

The Northern Broadsides production of Othello, directed by Barrie Rutter, is at West Yorkshire Playhouse until 14 March and then tours the UK Photograph: Tristram Kenton