Review: Othello

Othello is often regarded as a story of the madness of love. However, Benji Bailey’s production explored the madness of hatred. Examining the limitless capability of the human mind for self-deception, the play juxtaposed two parallel mental spirals. Othello’s descent into agonizing jealousy is well known, and hardly requires explanation. Lesser-explored territory lies within the mind of Iago – so often portrayed as a heartless psychopath at the expense of the complexity of his character, here he was done justice. Doubt, fear and even remorse were allowed to shine through his mask, forcing the audience to question pre-conceived notions of his fundamentally evil nature. ‘What’s he then that says I am a villain?’ he demands, and in this case we had to consider the question seriously. Bailey’s superb production mined seldom-explored veins of the play, enabling it to more fully pose its questions on the nature of human belief and morality.

This production harnessed the simplicity Venue 2 necessitates to great effect. An elegant and unobtrusive stage design allowed a strong sense of continuity to run throughout the play, barring a few minor lapses. The characters sat on the same type of chairs as the audience. Whilst at first this jarred uncomfortably with the 17th Century costume, the unornamented mise-en-scene afforded slick changes of scene and enhanced emphasis on characterisation and dialogue. This disparity between set and costume was soon forgotten. The audience’s attention was riveted to the action, and this play served as an advocate for the obvious truth that elaborate staging is always subordinate to an efficient crew and a talented cast.

Ebe Bamgboye was accomplished as Othello, and effectively communicated the various stages of his transformation from heroic warrior and silver-tongued lover to a man driven mad by jealousy and the need for vengeance. His murder of Cate Kelly’s Desdemona was visceral. A sentimental darkness is cast too often over this scene, but here it was mercilessly allowed to realise its power. Kelly, too, delivered an admirable performance including an affecting portrayal of heartbreak, but the star of the show was undoubtedly Tom Vanson as Iago. His skillful performance liberated Iago from his conventional characterisation. Vanson humanised Iago, allowing him moments of guilt and self-doubt. This transformed the pantomime villain into a man intoxicated by hate who, having taken deception too far, can only keep on lying at the expense of his conscience. Vanson’s performance was crucial to Bailey’s alteration of the texture of the play, unsettlingly pushing Iago into a tragic downfall of his own.

This courageous production dexterously unpicked Othello’s tapestry of truth and deceit, but left the audience with no thread to follow to a comfortable moralising conclusion. By humanising Iago it set him up as an interrogator of human nature. He was less intimidating as the devil incarnate.