Theatre Review: Othello

Content warning: Discussion of racism

Mesmerised, touched, surprised – those are the three feelings I would choose to express how I felt upon exiting the Royal Shakespeare Company theatre into the cold Tuesday night. Othello was the first Shakespeare play I’ve ever seen performed, and I had my preconceptions on what I thought I’d see. Having studied the work previously and seen its opera interpretation, I expected a traditional play, perhaps something best described as ‘normal’. And of course, not that normal is bad, but after a certain point audiences want to see unique interpretations of timeless works, and this certainly was it.

The tragedy follows the story of General Othello (played by John Douglas Thompson), a ‘moor’, which is a term that Christian Europeans use to describe Muslim people. He marries the beautiful Desdemona (played by Juliet Rylance), against her father’s wishes, who is prejudiced against Othello’s dark skin colour. Meanwhile, Iago, an officer angry at Othello for promoting Lieutenant Cassio over him, begins to scheme, seeking revenge against his general. Ultimately, Iago’s grand goal is to convince Othello of his wife’s infidelity and affair with Cassio, bringing him to a point of hysteria. As the events unfold, we are faced with issues of racism, manipulation, and moral corruption.

the masterful use of lighting made the scene remarkably chilling

Something I noted immediately was the set design: an abstract and minimalist backdrop of a textured wall and black strings that fell onto the stage from the ceiling, forming a sort of box. The designer Judith Bowden creates an environment that allows for the focus to fall on the characters, and I found the choice of combining traditional sixteenth century costumes with a simple set to be capturing. The mix of modernity and tradition made me think of temporality and the place race holds in history. The issues of otherness that the play explores are problems existing in the present day, and I found the modern set to reiterate that notion. The acting of Will Keen, who played Iago, stood out from the rest of the cast, and at first I questioned if this made sense as I felt his demeanour appeared to be of a modern time, somehow reminiscent of a grumpy man in a pub. However, as the play progressed, I felt that the comic relief he added to the overall mood, as well as his nonchalant attitude, contributed to the sociopathy that is so central to the villain’s characterisation.

I was excited to see how this production would approach portraying Othello’s strangling of Desdemona, and the masterful use of lighting made the scene remarkably chilling, with the lights going out completely as he takes her last breath. Not seeing, but hearing her struggle was incredibly impactful, and in some ways even difficult to go through. It felt real, in a way that trying to imitate strangling wouldn’t have.

The designer Judith Bowden creates an environment that allows for the focus to fall on the characters, and I found the choice of combining traditional sixteenth century costumes with a simple set to be capturing

Thompson’s portrayal of Othello wasn’t exceptionally manly or general-like, but I think this was a manifestation of the weakness of the character and the way love and jealousy made him lose his stance. Thompson’s acting presented Othello as a sensitive, smitten man, largely centring around Desdemona and less so around his title as a general. This, in some ways, made it hard to believe his virtues and the narrative that his heroic tales were what charmed Desdemona. Though I enjoyed the delicacy in his speech and manners towards Desdemona, I did feel that his manhood could have been better displayed in his dialogues with Cassio.

What really tied the play together, especially in amalgamation with the lighting and staging, was James Oxley’s musical accompaniment. The overlapping choir along with Desdemona standing behind the moving black strings created a very visually striking ghastly effect. The singing was equally minimalist, and yet contained a strong sense of disorder, which seemed to reflect not only Othello’s misery, but the general topic of jealousy and abuse.

Overall, I found the play to be extremely captivating, and the use of the black strings both at the start and the end tied it all together. The acting of Anastasia Hille at the end left a very strong impact; the strengths of her speech in accusing Iago and standing up for her own voice was extremely moving and felt contemporary – with women still continuously having to prove the validity of their voices. The play relates a historical story, but in many ways, the minimalism of it allowed me to hone in on the characters and study them as individuals, not being distracted by an overly extravagant set. Bravo!