OTHELLO : A CONTEMPORARY TAKE ON ONE OF SHAKESPEARE’S CLASSIC TRAGEDIES

Kaveh K, Year 11 writes...

Watching posters of past performances fly by, in Clint Dyer’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, Othello, cements the legacy this 2022 adaption is trying to live up to. The National’s 2013, 1997 and 1964 productions have all been critically acclaimed, though the latter left a bitter taste in Dyer’s mouth.

In 1964, Dyer attended the National to watch Sophie Treadwell’s acclaimed Machinal, only to see a poster of British actor Laurence Olivier, acting as Othello in blackface. He left in disgust and. in a Times interview stated: “Obviously I didn’t think the National Theatre was for me.” Dyer is now the first black director of Othello at a major British theatre, putting a spin on the tragedy to provide a much more contemporary twist.

Taking a seat in the Lyttleton Theatre, the play has already begun: a cleaner mops a pool of blood, a hint for what is to come. Dyer’s direction puts focus on often sidelined characters, such as the antagonist Iago’s wife, Emilia, and uses unconventional, but strikingly effective, techniques to show Iago’s true skill in orchestrating the events of the play, allowing us to watch his machinations in a new light. Most notable is the usage of “clicks” between reality and soliloquy; rather than having all characters leave the stage to hear Iago’s plans, it happens around all the characters he is manipulating, really allowing the audience to appreciate the ease in which Iago conducts his plans.

Even then, this modernistic view of the play seems slightly confusing with the very traditional background it has, and often veers into seemingly random metaphors and comparisons, such as riot police surrounding the stage with painted masks. The “clicks” between soliloquies are overdone, significantly hastening the pace, making Iago’s manipulation seem much more unrealistic in such a short timeframe.

Whilst misogyny is ubiquitous in all renditions of the play, being integral to its later plot, a real focus on the abuse and torment faced by women is highlighted here. Emilia seems to be almost lovesick, yet Iago clearly does not feel the same, often leading her purely for his own personal gain. Abused, bloody and shaking the torment she faces is evident, and throughout the play the audience watches as her desperation to cling on to her husband continues without stopping, showing the lengths Iago is willing to go to achieve his own goals; exploiting his own wife, with her Act 4 monologue (“But I do think...”) seeming much more apt after her relentless misery.

Thank you to our English Department for organising the trip.

Available via NT Live, in cinemas until 23rd February.