Keble O’Reilly

Tuesday 24th-Saturday 28th November 7.30pm; Saturday 28th November 2.30pm

“One of the strongest moments is when all these trappings are stripped away, the soldiers step out of their otherwise constant roles, and the light is down to a single torch.” Arabella Currie ★★★★★

“It was only halfway through the performance that I inspected my programme, and saw that Iago was being played by Kate Lewin – yes, Kate.  Such a convincing, astonishingly transformative performance is rare to see, let alone for a woman playing a man.” Simon Thomas ★★★★★

Othello ★★★★★

Review by Arabella Currie

Immediately the audience is ill at ease, having to enter past the watchful eye of a general with a clipboard, and then pick their way through a stage filled with sandbags and soldiers. The opening is thus wonderfully enhanced by the modern army barracks setting chosen by the director, but later on it seems that these ideas take over the play itself. It was hard at times to focus on what was going on, distracted by directorial embellishments – someone smoking yet another care-worn cigarette or showing camaraderie by another manly shoulder pat. As it develops, the production becomes far starker and simpler, and as a result this small criticism is definitely just a small one. One of the strongest moments is when all these trappings are stripped away, the soldiers step out of their otherwise constant roles, and the light is down to a single torch.

Evidence of the care which William Maynard has given to this production is that lines which could easily be throw-away, or just delivered to explain an entrance or an exit, have a special and reasoned significance. Every moment of ‘Othello’ is incredibly well thought-out. The same goes for the characters, allowing reactions to them to shift throughout the play. At first Derek Ezenagu’s Othello in his cardigan and Converse seems overly reliant on open hands and wide eyes, but it soon becomes clear just how powerful and subtle a performance this is. His descent into madness and despair is astonishing. Iago, played really brilliantly by Kate Lewin develops also, so subtly that we are not really conscious of it but at points suddenly see that the character is changing before our eyes. Every performance is strong, but special mention must also go to the soldier who gives the final speech and to Emilia, played by Hanan Abdalla, both of whom are vital to the power of the closing scene.

Thought, care and skill have gone into this production by the bucket load, and there is much evidence of this. Each actor works incredibly hard from before the opening until after the close, even being on stage and acting during the interval. As a result, the audience is forced to intensely and uncomfortably dwell on things we might rather overlook.

Othello ★★★★★

Review by Simon Thomas

There has been a vogue, in recent years, for staging Shakespeare in periods and settings as alien as possible to the play in question – Macbeth in 1920s Belgium, or King Lear in a Northern casino, for instance.  It is a relief, then, that this production of Othello (in the capable hands of director William Maynard) is placed in so suitable a setting as an army barracks.  Indeed, we enter straight through it, with ranks of soldiers being called to attention as we wander to our seats, trying not to trip over them.  Lest the sandbags, barbed wire, and army camouflage prove too subtle for the undiscerning spectator, the first few minutes are spent with an army drill reinforcing the picture.  Truth be told, the space is rather small for the number of times ‘Squaaad’ is barked before the beginning of the play proper – but the military context of Othello is firmly in place.

The acoustic problems, sadly, continue through the first scene – Roderigo and Iago are on stage, but the piped-in background sounds (again, militaristic) drown out all the dialogue.  But despair not: this issue doesn’t last for long, and once your ears have recovered, you can begin to enjoy the show.  I doubt the plot needs exposition – but, in case you’re coming fresh to Othello, the central theme (as every high school student knows) is jealousy.  This is the play, after all, which coined the phrase ‘green-eyed monster’.  There are jealousies concerning hierarchy, fatherhood, wealth – but most especially women.  Though Othello is right there in the title, and Derek Ezenagu plays him with the commanding confidence and natural dignity which the role demands, the success or failure of a production of Othello hangs upon Iago, instigator and ringleader of all the play’s tragedy.  Here, Iago is played like a spiv, with greased-back ponytail and leather jacket.  He is no Hamlet, Shakespeare never reveals the truth about his motivations (except Iago’s aside that Othello ‘‘twixt my sheets / has done my office’, which is delivered here as an incidental thought, not the central drive).  It was only halfway through the performance that I inspected my programme, and saw that Iago was being played by Kate Lewin – yes, Kate.  Such a convincing, astonishingly transformative performance is rare to see, let alone for a woman playing a man.  There isn’t even any need to suspend disbelief, for so able is Lewin that disbelief simply doesn’t arise.  Her Iago is callous, but personable; utterly without conscience, but never a cartoon villain.  Breathtaking.  Amongst a high-calibre cast, special mention ought also to go to Hanan Abdalla’s Emilia, who – movingly – comes into her own in the final scenes of the play.

And what of poor Desdemona in all this?  The much-maligned heroine (Nai Webb) is skittish and ingenuous, a loving rather than a sexual being.  It is thus all the more painful to see her thrown about the stage by her husband – for this production, quite literally, doesn’t pull its punches.  Some of the most successful parts in fact are the high-octane, multi-character sections, including the laddish drinking scene, where Cassio’s ‘very poor and unhappy brains for drinking’ meet their match.  The whole play is performed with an appreciation for its physicality, and that is perhaps the lasting effect on the audience.  Characters have been finely delineated, the setting and lighting well thought out, but it is Othello’s dramatic energy which is most triumphant.  This production is rowdy, passionate, intense – and a great success.