OTHELLO. To 15 November.

Northampton/Greenwich

OTHELLO
by William Shakespeare

Royal Theatre To 1 November 2003
Tue-Sat 7.30pm Mat 23,25 October 2.30pm
Audio-described 21 October
Post-show Talkback 22 October thenGreenwich Theatre 4-15 November
Runs 3hr 15min One interval

TICKETS: 01604 624811 (Northampton)
www.royalandderngate.com
020 8858 7755 (Greenwich)
Review: Timothy Ramsden 16 October

A well-paced, clear account - well-acted, with an especially fine Iago.Set during World War II, with Othello a Black US general helping out the British establishment chinless wonders in the operations-room all-round this is a fast-moving, clear production. Ron Cephas Jones' Othello is a tall, gaunt figure it's easy to imagine devoted to the job and unaware of a world outside military discipline and frankness.

Which makes his first appearance in the doorway of a jazz-club, Aleppo's, surprising but perhaps his swinging-along there is more a presence to encourage the chaps, than a genuine inclination to nightlife and its relaxed subtleties.

Iago normally takes centre-stage in this play. Othello's importance usually ends up as the measure of his aide's destructive force than a central character in his own right, like Macbeth, Hamlet or Lear. Finbar Lynch plays Iago with utter control. There's little overt display of emotion, making the change from public goodfella to soliloquising demon a smooth, convincing switch. And when he finally announces he'll never speak again, it's all part of the control mechanism that's made his devastation so chillingly logical.

This Iago's contemptuous of women he's responsible for the deaths of all three, killing Bianca and carting her off on his sword's point. There's an intensity to his hatred of Othello that suggests confused passion perhaps this lies behind Iago's strange, once-mentioned jealous fear that Othello's slept with Emilia.

His own way with his wife is dismissive. Teresa Banham's Emilia tries to provoke him physically while she has his attention over Desdemona's handkerchief but it's clear where his attention stays focused, and he's away from her the moment he has what he wants within a second it's as if she's no longer there. Yet Banham's Emilia is no cipher.

So it's no wonder Kate Fleetwood's Desdemona, less worldly-aware than her attendant, falls victim to Iago's manipulative, honest-seeming evil. Fleetwood's a well-brought up Desdemona, unable to comprehend her husband's sudden hostility and violence up to the point of death.

It's a brisk, clear production likely to appeal to young audiences. At this matinee several A-level groups were as attentive as they could be given the disruptive effect of one small group of young people who seemed to lack any a) interest, b)sense of social responsibility and c) adult supervision. A pity, for audience and performers alike.

Iago: Finbar Lynch
Roderigo: Jamie Bower
Brabantio/Lodovico: John Nolan
Othello: Ron Cephas Jones
Cassio: William Buckhurst
Duke of Venice/Gratiano: Stephen Boswell
Desdemona: Kate Fleetwood
Montana: Santiago Cabrera
Emilia: Teresa Banham
Bianca: Clara Perez
Officer,Soldiers,Girls of Cyprus: Jennie Gough, Melanie Spencer, Mike Hayhurst, Mike Tomlinson, Anna Marie Whitaker

Director: Rupert Goold
Designer: Laura Hopkins
Lighting: Neil Austin
Sound: Adam Cork
Movement: Francine Coleman Watson
Fight director: Terry King

2003-10-28 10:28:13