Othello

By: William Shakespeare

Director: David Latham

Stratford Festival of Canada

Tom Patterson Theatre

Run: May 21^st to September 22^nd 2007

4 Stars

Reviewed By: Kindah Mardam Bey

I can never think of Shakespeare’s play Othello without thinking to myself of the saying built in Hamlet and shaped in The Great Escape ‘was there madness in his method or method in his madness;’ for Iago seems to be the perfect depiction of that statement. Entering into a another production of Othello, I queried as to whether this was a play about Othello or about Iago; for even though Othello is the lead character where all the plays balance (or imbalance) lays, it is Iago who has the most lines, the meatiest performance and the most puppet strings in hand. It seemed that watching this years’ production of Othello at the Stratford Festival in Canada I felt compelled further to wander whose responsibility it was to carry this Shakesperean play? For both roles, Iago and Othello, demand strong performances indeed, but if one were to not rise to the other performers skill, would it be enough to have a strong Iago alone or a strong Othello alone? Amidst a truly delightful and compelling production of Othello, put on by this year’s Stratford Festival, I received my answer.

Othello is the story of a senator’s daughter who elopes with the plays namesake – an army general who is a moor (A Muslim African). Iago, one of Othello’s officers, is a scheming, jealous and selfish man who has not only set his sights on the position of lieutenant that Cassio holds, but he also seeks to destroy Othello ultimately, for personal gain. Shakespeare’s play showcases a spider’s web of deceit, jealousy, and greed that Iago concocts is his personal desires; what is left is a trail of innocence squandered and manipulated. This is a play you can really sink your teeth into! The

Tom Patterson theatre is reminiscent of a fashion runway with a coliseum style seating and a balcony at the top of the stage is an ideal place to play Othello; as so much of the story revolves around Iago’s menace and his ability to encapsulate and maneuveur a situation. The theatre is ‘cozy’ and when a fools cell phone rings, the audience is lucky enough to scan the room and uncover the 21^st century baffoon! With little set design necessary, the most obvious and prominent prop was the bed of Desdemona’s demise in the final act. So with so few props to necessitate theme, the creativity of the costumery played heavily into the perceptions for the audience of the characters. Possibly the most intriguing costumes was that of Desdemona and Iago; the former was elegantly dowsed in finery (as the play suggests a senator’s daughter would be) but also her clothes were the stark black and white indicative of many concepts in the play and only was she truly illuminated when she was decked in white and looking like a perfect porcelain doll. The latter, Iago of course, had an equally unique and personality laden garment; with blood red doublet and black scaled leather gloves he seemed fitting as a villain with spurs trailing behind him.

Performances were a plethora of great talent, the women in particular were strong players with Claire Jullien in her tenth season at Stratford in the role of Desdemona and a profound Emilia played by Lucy Peacock in her twentieth season at Stratford. Peacock is a Shakesperean actress many times over, with the distinct performance style that can only be rendured by a woman who has played Shakespeare as if it were infused in her veins – equating Peacock to a young Judy Dench would not be in the slightest bit an over exaggeration. When watching performances like Lucy Peacock as Emilia, I only wish that Shakespeare had made a leading role for the female persuasion, so we could enjoy the performance longer.

As for the male performances, I was truly saddened to see artistic director of the Obsidian Theatre Company, Philip Akin bring so little to the character of Othello. Most of his performance seemed weak and unfocused, until the last act where he seemed to gain his bearings and finish with a more defined characterization. The chemistry between Claire Jullien and Akin was virtually non-existent and almost uncomfortable, How could Desdemona be seduced without the chemistry? So this is where my quandry lay; can this play be a success with a weaker performance by Othello if Iago is performed well? I was answered quickly as the play remained captivating as Jonathon Goad’s Iago was strong in performance, and deliciously menacing to watch. Goad poured his heart (no matter how blackened Iago’s is!) into this performance and although Goad did not carry this play as much of the supporting cast were delightful to watch, but he did bring forth a formidable and captivating lead character.

Notable supporting performances were seen in Jeffrey Wetsch who played Cassio as a little less of a lemming and a little more sexually charged, I thought his performance worked well and hit the right tone for the role. Most noteworthy was Gordon S Miller’s performance of the love-cast suitor Roderigo, who becomes Iago’s pawn. I have never felt so sad for Roderigo’s ‘lot in life,’ Miller seemed to create an empathy and substance in a small but important role.

Quit possibly one of the best stage fights I’ve seen was in this Othello as this appeared to have been a ‘boy’s club’ mission to make this a great fight. Much of the male cast were involved and took to the fight with gusto and interesting fluidity, crossing somewhere between battle, dance and oomph! Nicholas Van Burek was the fight captain and should receive some well deserved praise for his coordinating of that scene, of course praise goes to the ‘boy’s club’ for the fun most obviously had.

Othello at this year’s Stratford Festival of Canada was well directed by David Latham, trying to dig into the core of this play at its traditional roots, a feat for any director, and virtually all the cast performances were well worth watching, I would consider this a worthwhile production to see as it is showcased in a very revealing and thought-provoking manner.