‘Professional and personable, powerful and impressive: I could have happily watched this right again from start to finish’
There is much to celebrate in director Peter Stickley’s adaptation and production of Othello but none more so than how he has made it so accessible and easy to follow: it’s an absolute delight to watch with the only disappointment that it had to come to an end.
Othello (Mostyn Crawford), a Moor and immigrant, is the Venetian Republic’s most admired military commander, and enchanted by tales of his exotic past, Desdemona (Peter Todd) has fallen in love and eloped with him, much to the chagrin of her father, Brabantio (Hamish Ings), who as an influential senator seeks redress from the Duke (Archie Barrington). With a naval attack threatened by the Ottoman Turks, the leaders are more interested in protecting their Cypriot outpost and side with Othello. Tempestuous weather results in a short-lived military conflict, and instead personal battles begin to unfold in an emotional arena where Othello feels less secure. His aide, Iago (Thomas Delacourt) sets out to entrap rival Cassio (Charlie McRoberts) and in doing so soon discovers he has the power to undermine Othello himself as he uses his own wife Emilia (Fletcher Garrard) and his friend Rodrigo (Garrard) to play out his merry dance before the tragedy unfolds in this thrilling production.
Amy Yardley’s set design is exquisite, utilising a split-level staging to capture the fortress and a domestic interior, whilst throughout, with its clever use of entrances and exits, embodies the nooks and crannies of a labyrinth townscape as intricately as the unravelling plot on stage. This was further embellished by her design of resplendent period costumes – made by Rachel Frost – whose design and use of colour facilitated the necessary quick changes with many of the cast multi-rolling. There is a subtle use of musical refrains arranged by Alex Beetschen and sensitively delivered by the cast and quite movingly at the conclusion, with some good use of movement.
The cast perform strongly with engaging and energetic performances that really get beneath the surface of the drama to touch upon the underlying humanity amid the games being played out. Professional and personable, powerful and impressive: I could have happily watched this right again from start to finish.
Two of the cast were on professional debut, not that you would have guessed it: Barrington’s bumptious and bombastic Duke was enjoyable whilst his Bianca was the complete tease. Garrard evoked the nervous reticence of the lovestruck Roderigo whilst he cleverly brought depth to Emilia with a powerful conclusion.
Ings captured the explosive anger of Brabantio and its controlled suppression in a strong performance as well as covering an array of minor characters, whilst McRoberts’ Cassio was wonderfully riddled with confusion as matters unravelled around him with just a hint of duplicity for good measure.
Todd was a delightful Desdemona with a strong performance that cleverly yet subtly suggested a possible duality within the character, as well as proving to be of fine voice with some strong solos. Crawford gave a very human portrayal of Othello, with a soldierly charm betrayed by anxiety and doubt rapidly descending into outbursts of jealous rage.
Delacourt is an outstanding and all too believable Iago, using an outwardly genial character and some humorous breaking of the fourth wall to develop a rapport with the audience. As charm personified, you just can’t believe it when in the blink of an eye he switches to a cool, calm, and calculating nature, but more so, you don’t want to. Powerful stuff.
Founded in 2004, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men are the modern incarnation of Shakespeare’s original company of the same name, bringing to vivid and accessible life the greatest works of drama, as they would first have been performed. For further details please visit www.tlcm.co.uk
Othello is touring the UK through to mid-September, before transferring to the USA. Further details and booking for UK venues at https://tlcm.co.uk/booktickets/