A CHEEKY ORIGIN STORY TO OTHELLO.
UNMOORED
Written by Betty Shamieh
Directed by Ian Belknap, S&F's Artistic Director
Full of murder, sexual intrigue, and betrayal, UNMOORED is a prequel to OTHELLO, THE MOOR OF VENICE. The teenage Othello, born into a royal household in his native country of Morocco, must learn to navigate a court full of ruthless power players, including his mother. This cheeky origin story explores the connection between jealousy, violence towards women, and war though the lens of one of Shakespeare’s most controversial tragic heroes.
Sunday, July 12
Symphonic Hall at Marist University
1:00pm
UNMOORED was developed at the Classical Theatre of Harlem with support from the Mellon Foundation Playwright-in-Residence program.
Betty Shamieh | Playwright
Betty Shamieh (she/her) is the author of sixteen plays. Her off-Broadway premieres include ROAR and MALVOLIO, a sequel to TWELFTH NIGHT, which were both New York Times Critics’ Picks. Her debut novel, TOO SOON, was selected as a PEOPLE Magazine's Book of the Week, NPR Book of the Day, and named as one of the Best Books of 2025 by The New Yorker and Oprah Daily. TOO SOON is a winner of a Golden Poppy Award, an Indie Next Pick, and a finalist for the California Book Award. Shamieh is the Mellon Playwright-in-Residence at the Classical Theatre of Harlem and currently working on her next novel, THE MASQUERADERS, and a tv pilot based on ROAR. www.bettyshamieh.com
Ian Belknap | Director
Ian Belknap became the Artistic Director of New York Stage & Film in 2024. He has directed, developed, or produced new theatre by many leading dramatists and composers, including Heather Christian, Nambi E. Kelley, Dave Harris, Crystal Monee Hall, Marcus Gardley, Rebecca Gilman, John Guare, Beth Henley, Hansol Jung, Betty Shamieh, John Patrick Shanley, Noelle Vinas, among many others.He has directed significant revivals of plays by Sean O’Casey, John Steinbeck, William Shakespeare (15 productions), George Bernard Shaw, Tom Stoppard, Tennessee Williams, and Lanford Wilson. His work has been seen at most of the major resident theatres and in small towns and large US cities, on tour with the Tony Award-winning itinerant theatre The Acting Company, where he served as Artistic Director from 2010 - 2021. He has taught and directed at The Juilliard School and Grad Acting at New York University. In addition to his work in theatre, he is actively writing for film and television