Othello by William Shakespeare - ★★★★☆
The tragedy of Othello lies in the hands of his nemesis lago. In the 400 years since Shakespeare first penned the play, the character of lago has worn many faces. In this punchy, new fast-paced production of Othello, 1 nemesis becomes 3, played by Michael C. Fox, Orlando James and Jeremy Neumark Jones. Each of the three lago’s have been endowed with their own personalities and different traits, bringing the tension and unrest within Lago to light. This fresh take brought a vulnerability and dynamism to Iago that is not typically seen. Throughout the night, we see the three Iago’s plot, manipulate and ensnare our titular character.
Director Sinead Rushe’s intimate and magnetic take on Othello was only amplified by the Riverside Studios theatre space, with the audience watching from three sides. With a shadowy, sparse stage (designed by Natalie Pryce) and minimal props, the audience had no choice but to be immersed in the tale. The cast of seven was incredibly strong, with fantastic multi-roling efforts from Rachel-Leah Hosker as Emilia/Rodrigo and Ryan O’Doherty as Cassio/Brabantio.
Alex Lewer’s lighting design created fantastic tension and punctuated moments of high drama. This paired with the ominous, echoey sound design by Alie Taie using a combination of pre-recorded music and soundscapes created by the cast transformed the space from a seedy pub to a storm at sea, to the bed chamber where tragedy struck.
This iteration of Othello begins with the giddy excitement of new love between Othello and Desdemona. While Iago watches on from the corners beginning his plot to ruin Othello and destroy their love. Unfortunately, the love we see in the play's opening struggles to rear its head again, making Othello’s jealousy feel misplaced and unnecessary and Desdemona’s usually disturbing death scene falls flat.
This is unfortunate a symptom of cutting down a mammoth Shakespeare into a 90-minute piece. Despite this Rose Riley’s Desdemona was captivating-beautifully, strong and full of life. While Martins Imhangbe’s Othello gave an impressive performance, showing Othello’s vulnerability and power. Imhangbe delivered the lines with a finesse that allowed us to see Othello’s torment with great clarity.
The shortening of the play also meant that the character of Emilia, played wonderfully by Rachel-Leah Hosker, lost impact. The audience were not privy to the intimate relationship between Desdemona and Emilia, again making the impact of Emilia’s discovery of Desdemona’s death and Iago's betrayal less emotionally impactful.
This production of Othello was an exciting exploration of one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains by Sinéad Rushe. Although the length of the play meant we lost some of the heart of the tragedy. The play is worth a watch for its fresh take and stellar performances.
Othello is showing at the Riverside Studios till October 29th.
