Othello was a 1951 production of William Shakespeare's play of the same name, which was produced, directed by and starring Orson Welles in his first appearance on the London stage.
Filming was sporadic, and he frequently stopped the production to take on other acting jobs (including The Third Man) to raise more funds.
He was thus delighted to receive an offer from Laurence Olivier, then operating the St James's Theatre, to come and perform Othello on the London stage.
[total speechlessness]"[1] Of the play's design, theatre critic Kenneth Tynan offered the following description: Composer Angelo Francesco Lavagnino, had already composed the score for Welles's Othello film, and the director recalled Lavagnino also "wrote an entirely different score for Othello when I did it in the theatre.
On the opening night, Welles mistook his cue, and accidentally walked on to the stage much too early, just after curtain up.
As was often his habit when watching Shakespeare plays, Churchill mumbled along much of the dialogue from memory, including retaining all the cut lines, with added emphasis - which the cast found highly distracting.