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“I did not think through in the accepting of Othello and the impact and pain it would cause,” Linette J Smith wrote in a statement posted Monday night on Facebook. She explained she thought the gender swap might generate discussion about women in power roles, the marginalization of women and the normalization of differently gendered relationships.

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All roles usually played by men. On top of that, with the partial gender-bending, there were straight, gay and lesbian relationships throughout, all completely normalized without any judgement. I saw value in normalizing women in power, and non-heterosexual relationships.”

Brososky went on to say he initially thought the changes were creative, given the relevance to current events in the world.

“I was wrong,” he said. “The cost of not making sure there was a performer of colour in the title role was too great. And it is a complete intersectional fail for me to have believed you could have swapped sexism for racism in this show.

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located at 10322 83 Ave. in Edmonton's Old Strathcona area. January 31, 2017.

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To a modern audience, Othello is simply another story of domestic abuse

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To a modern audience, Othello is simply another story of domestic abuse

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The commission reports strangulation as a common method used by male perpetrators to kill female victims. It also reports:

a demonstrable link between family violence, homicide and suicide … a large number of men who died from suicide in Victoria between 2009 and 2012 had a history of family violence.

Othello suicides not because he killed Desdemona, but rather because he killed her on the mistaken understanding that she had desired and loved another man. The implication is that if she actually had an affair with Cassio, Othello would have considered the killing justified, and not taken his own life.

Indeed, the tragedy of the play could have been prevented by recognising Othello’s controlling behaviour towards Desdemona as violence arising out of societal attitudes as much as Othello’s personality.

There is no tragedy in his mistaken murder of Desdemona. There is no honour in killing her even if she was unfaithful. A modern view of family violence leaves Othello as nothing but a killer acting out the narrative of gendered violence of the 16th century Venetian society presented by Shakespeare. We are left without a tragedy and just a murder.

For a 21st century audience informed by the findings of the Royal Commission, the pathos of the play comes from how unnecessary and preventable – yet inevitable within the story – are the deaths. And how such deaths continue today.

source : http://theconversation.com/to-a-modern-audience-othello-is-simply-another-story-of-domestic-abuse-63646

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Nasra Adem, local black actor said she thinks Smith made the right choice. She said it was an "irresponsible decision" for the Walterdale to put a white person in a black role.
"It's another indicator of how far we still have to go in terms of true community and inclusivity in Edmonton and in the arts community," said Adem.

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Basically a big fuss was made because of racial issues of the characters

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Basically a big fuss was made because of racial issues of the characters

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"Othello has long been a source of racial controversy, and was for centuries played by white actors in blackface."

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“This is a heartbreaking decision, but as a community of volunteers and artists, we can’t continue with a production where the safety of members of our cast has been threatened,” Adam Kuss, president of the Board of Directors of Walterdale Theatre, said.

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Edmonton theatre is forced to cancel its show due to alleged threats over a controversial casting choice. 

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Edmonton theatre is forced to cancel its show due to alleged threats over a controversial casting choice. 

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Members of the production received both online and in-person threats from people who were angered by the decision to cast a white female,Linette J. Smith, making her  in the role of Othello, traditionally a role filled by a person of colour.
Online pressure triggered the actor's decision to withdraw from the role of Othello, forcing the Walterdale Theatre to cancel its upcoming production of Shakespeare's play