To be real, or not to be real?

In a slight twist on the famous words from Shakespeare's Hamlet, this question of how accurate performances are can be directed to Othello. As we have talked in class, the fact that Shakespeare did not leave stage direction or details on how to perform his plays, it is up to the director to interpret and make his or her own conclusion on how to stage the play. In both clips we watched of Othello, there were some similarities, but also many differences. This shows that the director does have creative license and things are portrayed with their interpretation. Because of this, it is difficult to distinguish what was actually Shakespeare's intention or vision for the play and the director's interpretation.

I feel that this difference between Shakespeare and a director's creative license causes the authenticity of a piece to decrease. However, with the lack of direction Shakespeare left, we will never know the original significance or way things should have been. With this in mind, the audience must take a performance with a grain of salt; because chances are the significance and staging of things by a director is not what Shakespeare intended.