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Katie Macintyre’s Desdemona was sweet and guileless, with a true note of desperate horror, as she begged for her life. This mechanism of capture that exerts its force over the characters of Cyprus also occurs within Othello himself. The play refers on a number of occasions to jealousy as an innate force that cannot be planted, but instead grows from within and consumes itself and its host. Othello falls prey to the illusion of his own strength and power, and the jealousy it hides, just as Cyprus gives the illusion of providing a haven from the workings of the law. Othello’s obsession with appearances is the reason why he is content to watch Cassio’s supposed confession, despite the fact that confessions are heard rather than seen. He also turns Lodovico’s letters—which announce that Othello has been replaced by Cassio as governor of Cyprus in the same manner in which he believes Cassio has replaced him in the bedroom—into “ocular proof” that he is being supplanted.
At many points, in fact, the plot of Othello resembles those of Shakespeare comedies in that it is based upon misrecognition and jealousy. The resemblances to comedy suggest that the misunderstandings of the play will be recognized and all will live happily ever after. But Cyprus, unlike the forest of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is still connected to Venetian society, and the arrival of Lodovico strengthens the Venetian presence and reminds Othello of the necessity of safeguarding his societal and political reputation. Cyprus, then, becomes a sort of trap, a false escape, in which the societal norms that seem to have disappeared reemerge to capture the transgressors. It mademe think, maybe Frantic Assembly should revisittheir policy of doing new plays and slip in the odd few classics from the early 17th century? I’d vote for Ben Jonson any time! Frantic Assembly’s choreography is often extremely complex, yet their numerous movement sequences always look effortlessly performed. So whatof Iago? This version of the text is his playground. Joe Layton is a vicious thug but he plays all the other characters with a sly, lightness of touch. His lies and subterfugeseem almost to cause the tragedy bydefault.Youknow to expect something innovative and amazing when at a Frantic Assembly production and their version of Othello is no exception. We entered the auditorium to loud drum and bass music and were thereby prepared for a street version of a play written 400 years ago.
York Notes for A Level on Othello is the ultimate companion to William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy and will help you get to grips with all dimensions of the text. Exploring aspects of the work including the play’s genre, structure, characters, historical context and symbolism, this comprehensiverevision guide to Othello at A Level and AS will help you to write the very best examination responses and secure the best grade you can. Act 2, scene 1 The Turkish fleet is destroyed in a storm, while Cassio and then Desdemona, Emilia, and Iago arrive safely at Cyprus. Desdemona anxiously waits for Othello. When his ship arrives, he and Desdemona joyfully greet each other. Iago, putting his plot into action, persuades Roderigo that Desdemona is in love with Cassio and that Roderigo should help get Cassio dismissed from the lieutenancy. In the first act of Othello, Cyprus is clearly not such a world; it is a territory of Venice, to which Othello and company are called as a matter of state. As soon as the Turkish threat has been eliminated, however, the characters seem to lose their connection to Venetian society, and, with its festivities and drunken revelry, Cyprus then seems to have more in common with the alien, pastoral worlds of many of Shakespeare’s comedies. Act 4, scene 2 Othello questions Emilia about Cassio and Desdemona’s relationship, acting as if Emilia is the mistress of a brothel and Desdemona one of her prostitutes. Othello denounces Desdemona to her face as a whore. Desdemona turns for help to Iago, who reassures her.Roderigo, protesting to Iago that his gifts to Desdemona have won him no favor from her, threatens to ask for the return of the gifts. Iago counters this threat by telling Roderigo that Desdemona will leave for Mauritania with Othello unless Roderigo can delay them. The best way to do this, says Iago, is by killing Cassio.Othello was performed by Frantic Assembly at York Theatre Royal Tuesday 18 October 2022. The Director was Scott Graham. I have seen some excellent productions of Othello in my time (the Sheffield Crucible production starring Clarke Peters and Dominic West from The Wire leaps to mind), but this is undoubtedly the most compelling version I have encountered.
When I learned that this staging would last only 110 minutes (excluding interval), I was sceptical to say the least. How could the company possibly do justice to Shakespeare’s play when so much of the text (about an hour’s worth) would have to be excised? I am pleased to report that Scott Graham and Steven Hoggett prove themselves to be sensitive and judicious adaptors, preserving the structure of the original tragedy and the lion’s share of its most memorable dialogue. The pinnacle of his performance was towards the end of the show at the height of the tragedies, showing the true range of Akinsulire’s skills as an actor as he discovered the devastating truth behind the ongoing secrets and lies. The action of the play takes place almost wholly in Iago’s world, where appearances, rather than truth, are what count. Because of Iago’s machinations, Cassio is perfectly placed to seem to give evidence of adultery, and Othello is perfectly placed to interpret whatever Cassio says or does as such. Throughout the play, Othello has been oblivious to speech, always sure that speech masks hidden meaning. First staged in 2008—and subsequently revived in 2014—Frantic Assembly’s reimagining of Othello is a bold and visceral piece of work. Act 3, scene 4 Desdemona, still actively seeking to have Cassio reinstated, is worried about the loss of her handkerchief. Her anxiety about it increases when Othello asks her for it and then sternly rebukes her when she cannot produce it. Cassio approaches her, but she must now, because of Othello’s anger, postpone her efforts on his behalf. As he waits, Bianca, his lover, appears. Cassio has found Desdemona’s handkerchief in his room (placed there by Iago) and he asks Bianca to copy the embroidery work for him.But this play stands or falls by its Iago. Jamie Smelt was terrific – plotting, scheming, playing his puppets at will, then turning to confide in the audience with a knowing glance that seemed to say: ‘‘You see what fools they are?.’’ Tremendous. Lodovico’s arrival from Venice serves as a reminder of how great Othello’s transformation has been. As he stood before the senate at the beginning of the play, he was a great physical as well as verbal presence, towering above Brabanzio in stature and in eloquence, arresting the eyes and ears of his peers in the most political of public spaces, the court. After a short time in Cyprus, Iago has managed to bring about Othello’s “savage madness” (IV.i. 52). Othello loses control of his speech and, as he writhes on the ground, his movements. Othello’s trance and swoon in this scene present him at the greatest possible distance from the noble figure he was before the senate in Act I, scene iii.
This direction (Scott Graham) kept us immersed in the action as they took us from the pub, to the toilet cubicle, to the outdoors, often only taking only one swift movement. It kept us connected with the story as it progressed — and this decision combined with a stage almost always occupied with the actors left no opportunity for the audience to be distracted. True to the ever-popular Frantic Assembly style, Othello is alive with energy. House music envelopes the audience, drowning out all other sounds so we are instantly caught up in the world of the play. The tempo of the performance is set with a fast-paced opening sequence showing flirtations, fights, and power struggles, finally establishing Othello as the all-powerful, magnetic leader of men. Othello and Iago enter in mid-conversation. Iago goads Othello by arguing that it is no crime for a woman to be naked with a man, if nothing happens. Iago then remarks that if he were to give his wife a handkerchief, it would be hers to do as she wished with it. These persistent insinuations of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness work Othello into an incoherent frenzy. He focuses obsessively on the handkerchief and keeps pumping Iago for information about Cassio’s comments to Iago. Finally, Iago says that Cassio has told him he has lain with Desdemona, and Othello “[f]alls down in a trance” (IV.i. 41 stage direction).Cyprus serves as a contrast to Venice, a place where the normal structures and laws governing civil society cease to operate. Such a world is common within Shakespeare’s plays, though far more prevalent in his comedies. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It, for example, the forest functions as an unstructured, malleable world in which the characters can transgress societal norms, work out their conflicts, and then return to society with no harm done. This reworking of Othello is as relevant now as it was when it was first adapted in 2008; a focus on social structures, abuse and the power of anger reflects behaviours seen around the country and their irreversible consequences. Othello has recognized his handkerchief and, coming out of hiding when Cassio and Bianca are gone, wonders how he should murder his former lieutenant. Othello goes on to lament his hardheartedness and love for Desdemona, but Iago reminds him of his purpose. Othello has trouble reconciling his wife’s delicacy, class, beauty, and allure with her adulterous actions. He suggests that he will poison his wife, but Iago advises him to strangle her in the bed that she contaminated through her infidelity. Iago also promises to arrange Cassio’s death.
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