Othello is the Shakespeare play I have seen the most after King Lear: the 2019 production by Nigel Shawn Williams (with Michael Blake as Othello and Gordon S. Miller as Iago), the 1990 production by Trevor Nunn (with Willard White and Ian McKellen), the BBC production from 1981 by Jonathan Miller (with Anthony Hopkins and Bob Hoskins), and now this one.
What is it about Othello that fascinates me so? Let me think. Some people reduce it to a play about jealousy. Some, to domestic violence and honour killing. Some, to race and racism. Of course it’s not so simple. I suppose I’m obsessed with the play partly because of my fascination with Iago’s malignity and manipulation, partly because of the character of Emilia and her transfiguration at the end of the play, and partly because I have grappled for years with the character of Othello and he still eludes me. What a play!
I think I would say that the Nicholas Hytner production is my favourite version so far. At first, I didn’t particularly like Rory Kinnear as Iago. Ian McKellen is the one who most matches the Iago I had in my head reading the text: in front of others, he speaks softly and listens sympathetically, thus appearing trustworthy; alone, he’s cold, calculating, consumed with hatred for Othello. Bob Hoskins plays a very different Iago and that also works excellently: he has a matey persona, fun, genial, but sometimes chuckles to himself like a psychopath. Rory Kinnear is yet another Iago: a dull fellow who doesn’t stand out in the crowd but who in his dullness appears honest and trustworthy. When he poisons Othello’s ear, he plays so well the part of one who gains nothing from it, who doesn’t even want to say it. It is a different approach, and it works.
The reason it is my favourite version so far is that the entire production—and the entire cast—is excellent. In the BBC production, Penelope Wilton doesn’t quite have the childlike qualities of Desdemona—the character is saintlike and at the same time childlike. The Trevor Nunn production has a perfect Desdemona (Imogen Stubbs) and a perfect Iago, but tilts too much towards Iago—the play is not about Iago but about Othello, about the destruction of his soul. It also messes up the killing scene, as I have written a few times before—the tension rises and rises and Othello must kill Desdemona when it gets to the highest pitch—there cannot be any pause, any interruption, any lingering—Othello kills her at the height of madness—the way Willard White and Imogen Stubbs play the scene not only destroy the climax of the play but ruin the entire tragedy.
The production I have just seen doesn’t have this problem. Nicholas Hytner and his cast get perfectly right the pacing, tension, and pitch. The scene of Othello murdering Desdemona brought tears to my eyes, and when it got to the moment of Emilia screaming “Thou hast not half that power to do me harm/ As I have to be hurt”, I was crying. To look at the lifeless body of sweet, innocent Desdemona (Olivia Vinall), to hear the agony, the passionate anger of Emilia (Lyndsey Marshal), to see the horror on Othello’s face as he realises what he has done to his love and to his own soul—the play tore my heart to pieces.
Excellent production.
PS: You can find both this one and the David Oyelowo Coriolanus on National Theatre at Home, which is available worldwide. Start with a month subscription.
I got chills just reading your review. I watched the 2022 National Theatre production with Giles Terera, Paul Hilton, and Rosy McEwen a few months ago and realized it was the first time I had seen the entire play. Tanya Franks as Emilia practically ran away with the production in the scene you cited. I'll look for this older one - thank you.
ReplyDeleteI've read some reviews and got the impression that the 2022 version you saw was quite awful, so I'm going to look at some scenes in it and possibly write about it.
DeleteHimadri also saw a bit and stopped.
I enjoyed it. But as I said, it was the first one I saw, so it may pale in comparison to other productions. The Guardian review was scathing about the Iago, which I agreed with - too obvious a villain.
DeleteAll right, I checked some important scenes and I'm sorry to say that you watched an awful version.
DeletePlease check out the 2013 production. National Theatre at Home is available worldwide, you can just start with a month subscription. Trust me, it's excellent.
There are now three things I know I want to watch on that platform, so I probably will subscribe when I know I’ll have the time to watch them.
DeleteHaha all right. Let me know when you've seen them.
DeleteAll right. Just watched the murder scene and its aftermath of the 2022 "Othello", out of morbid curiosity, and made myself angry. I'm sorry to say that it's the most amaterish, laughable Shakespeare production I have ever seen.
DeletePlease watch the 2013 version and you'll see the difference.
Othello has a special place for me. I first read it when I was 16, after having seen the BBC production and maybe a stage version too. To me, what made the play so painful at the time (together with Iago’s totally pointless cruelty) was the sight of Desdemona’s desperate attempts to reach Othello— and hitting an iron wall of delusion, of insanity. I read the first four acts on one day, and turn act five the next. In between, I had actual nightmares, anticipating the final scene.
ReplyDeletePossibly as a result of my internal experience reading it, I’ve had a hard time perfectly enjoying any particular staged version. I’ll need to check out the version you suggest here.
Which productions have you seen so far?
Delete(I'm still angry about the bad version, as I watched the murder scene as well and it's just so bad).
The only television version I’ve seen is the BBC one with Anthony Hopkins. I watched a bit of the Lawrence Olivier version, but couldn’t tolerate the blackface and purported “black accent.”
DeleteBut I’ve seen several stage versions.
I see. Which stage versions did you see?
Delete