Othello
The Arts Centre, Warwick
Cast
Othello … Patrice Naiambana
Iago … Michael Gould
Desdemona … Natalia Tena
Cassio … Alex Hassell
Emilia … Tamzin Griffin
Roderigo … Marcello Magni
Brabantio … Hannes Flaschberger
Duke of Venice … Clive Mendus
Montano … Matthew Wilson
Bianca … Cath Whitefield
Gratiano … Glyn Pritchard
Lodovico … Robert Vernon
Fool … Miltos Yerolemou
Military Clerk … Flora Nicholson
Soldier … Osi Okerafor
Caleb Roew
I attended this second performance of Othello, again with the school, because of my fondness for the playrather than any need to study it. While it did not quite match my previous experience of the performance, it was nontheless an enjoyable piece with some interesting innovations.
Let us start with the good. Michael Gould, while not matching the devious cunning of Neal Foster's Iago, was a more everyman villain, convincing as the humble ensign, we can see why Othello and Cassio put their trust in him. Also effective was Tamzin Griffin as Iago's wife Emilia, Marcello Magni as the comically gulled Roderigo, and Miltos Yerolemou providing traditional Shakesperian comic relief as a Fool.
Of course, Othello is always a challenge, and while Patrice Naimbaia brought gravitas to the role, he struggled to elicit much sympathy for the great man's plight. Natalia Tena's Desdemona was a more fiery interpretation than most, but she ocassionally struggled with the verse. She also preceded a love scene with Othello by dancing topless, which seemed rather gratuitous, though appreciated by the students in the audience.
However, the play did introduce an interesting device by introducing the spirit of Desdemona's father Brabantio come to her the night she dies and recount the story of her mother's maid and the willow song. As the texts are nearly five hundred years old, it is refreshing to see new slants put on familiar pieces.
So, once again, Othello provides entertainment, but leaves us rooting for the anatagonist, which begs the question, 'Did Shakespeare write his villains too well?'
Theatre Notes
I attended this second performance of Othello, again with the school, because of my fondness for the playrather than any need to study it. While it did not quite match my previous experience of the performance, it was nontheless an enjoyable piece with some interesting innovations.
Let us start with the good. Michael Gould, while not matching the devious cunning of Neal Foster's Iago, was a more everyman villain, convincing as the humble ensign, we can see why Othello and Cassio put their trust in him. Also effective was Tamzin Griffin as Iago's wife Emilia, Marcello Magni as the comically gulled Roderigo, and Miltos Yerolemou providing traditional Shakesperian comic relief as a Fool.
Of course, Othello is always a challenge, and while Patrice Naimbaia brought gravitas to the role, he struggled to elicit much sympathy for the great man's plight. Natalia Tena's Desdemona was a more fiery interpretation than most, but she ocassionally struggled with the verse. She also preceded a love scene with Othello by dancing topless, which seemed rather gratuitous, though appreciated by the students in the audience.
However, the play did introduce an interesting device by introducing the spirit of Desdemona's father Brabantio come to her the night she dies and recount the story of her mother's maid and the willow song. As the texts are nearly five hundred years old, it is refreshing to see new slants put on familiar pieces.
So, once again, Othello provides entertainment, but leaves us rooting for the anatagonist, which begs the question, 'Did Shakespeare write his villains too well?'
Theatre Notes
- Natalia Tena made her first filmed appearance in About a Boy and is perhaps most known for portraying Nymphadora Tonks in the Harry Potter series.
- Miltos Yerolemou also portrayed the Fool in the RSC's production of Twelth Night at the Courtyard Theatre.
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