How fortunate that you got to produce the play with a good cast! Yes, I love that entire scene. One thing I like about it is how all the Venetians seem to be supporting Brabantio’s complaint against the man who “stole” his daughter. Then they find out that the man is Othello. After the speech to which you alluded, they start saying things like “I think this tale would win my daughter, too”. They may actually be swayed by the beautiful speech, or maybe they are more concerned with not offending Othello, whose military prowess they are counting on for the campaign against then Turks. I like the ambiguity of the Venetians’ motives in that scene.
I’m sorry, no, it wasn’t the entire play. It was actually a one-man show based on John Guilgud’s Shakespearean show “The Ages of Man.” So it was all excerpts of Shakespeare. Very well done by my friend.