Directed by Anthony Almeida
Review by Marina Funcasta
Approaching the forty-fifth anniversary of the Falklands War, it is difficult not to look back at this chapter of history with estrangement; a ten-week battle concerning the sovereignty of a South American island, its colonial nature represents a period that is awkwardly outdated. Yet, anxieties about technology, warfare and its documentation have only amplified, much owing to the social issues they carry with them. Both internationally and back at home. The racial tensions that continue to surface, not least in the riots of 2024, remind us that these conversations have hardly disappeared.
And Anthony Almeida’s Othello is acutely attuned to these rhythms. The use of cameras – a novelty in the 80s – enables the production to interrogate what happens when ordinary human emotions are pushed to public extremes. The subsequent atmosphere is one of boiling, circumspect surveillance. Designer Natasha Jenkins has much to be credited for here: the cage-like military fence is made multi-dimensional through her collaboration with video designer Erin Guan.
Indeed, the playing ground within which we witness our characters exist is striking in its emptiness. But this is not an obstacle to our ensemble, who allow their large emotional inner worlds to colour their grey environment. It is Phoebe Smyth who stands out for her spatial control. Like a bird in a cage, she tugs on the set’s meshed walls, fighting them as if, at points, for her life. This is a remarkable triumph for Smyth, whose performance as Desdemona marks her professional debut.
Risk is an important marker of Almeida’s production. Not only is it also a debut for Will Stanton, who plays a measured Cassio, but some dramaturgical and casting decisions collide to construct exciting identities and relationships. The suggested solidarity between our two non-white leads, for instance, provides an effortless background for their friendship. This helps humanise Iago, played with disarming malleability by Maanuv Thiara. There is something to be said here about the unspoken solidarity of racial minorities, which is amplified by Karishma Balani’s interesting casting of Grace Hodgett Young as Bianca. Young takes on the role of a local Argentine, standing synechdocally for the colonised populace. Played with an elegant containment, like Smyth, the poverty of the Shakespearean text is no obstacle – her physicality speaks for itself.
It is these women, along with Rebecca Banatvala who playes Emilia, that steal the show. Almeida punctuates their presence extremely well, showing through their relationships most of the production’s humanity. Especially in a tragedy such as Othello, where our protagonist’s fall seems to be pinned on the cost of “loving not wisely but too well”. And yet, it is ironic that love and laughter are so rare in the male relationships of this play. Perhaps this is what is so devastating. It is not in love’s absence that the tragedy lies, but that it proves powerless against the forces that ultimately consume it.
Acutely Attuned and Devastating
Othello runs at The Citizens Theatre until 7th November
Running time: Two hours and fifty minutes with one interval
Photo credit – Marc Brenner
Review by Marina Funcasta (contact@corrblimey.uk)
Marina is halfway through an English literature degree at Edinburgh University, wherein she has been (considerably) involved in the drama scene: enjoying performing with their Shakespeare Company shows, but also modern takes on Arthur Miller. However, Marina’s interests are wide-ranging under the theatre genre – enjoying abstract, more contemporary takes on shows (with a keen interest in Summerhall)
