`Othello` has long been recognised as one of the most powerful of Shakespeare`s tragedies. This is an intense drama of love, deception, jealousy and destruction. Desdemona`s love for Othello, the Moor, transcends racial prejudice; but the envious lago conspires to devastate their lives. In its vivid rendering of racism, sexism, contested identities, and the savagery lurking within civilisation, `Othello` is arguably the most topical and accessible tragedy from Shakespeare`s major phase as a dramatist. Productions on stage and screen regularly renew its power to engross, impress and trouble the imagination.