ABSTRACT
The Polish response to Othello changed after World War II when the country became ethnically homogeneous. The Polish post-communist regime productions have all been adaptations. Prima facie, the absence of black Othellos, even in blackface, in these productions may seem to reflect a Polish lack of interest in people of color or of a different ethnicity. After all, as the national consensus of 2015 indicates, Poland is the most ethnically homogeneous country in the European Union, with foreign citizens constituting just 0.3% of its population. Although William Shakespeare’s plays have received new interpretations since Poland emerged from its totalitarian shackles in 1989, Othello has maintained its marginal position. When Poland’s Shakespeare Theater Festival was organized in 1947 to demonstrate both Poland’s connection to Western Europe and to reclaim its pre-World War II international status, Othello was one of the plays entered. It difficult to say if Othello can help solve contemporary issues regarding immigrants and refugees in Poland.
