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Stratford production of 'Othello' flies
Editor's Note -The Stratford Festival performs
several of Shakespeare's plays in repetoire. In a
Shakespeare marathon, Melissa Rose Bernardo
viewed them all Her reviews of the performances
will run during the rest of the summer.
By Melissa Rose Bernardo
In contrast to "Hamlet" or "Macbeth," "Othello"
is a domestic tragedy. There are no kingdoms at
stake, no
countries in
strife; it is
the story of
one man
and how
racism poi-
sons and
eventually destroys him. Consequently, it is a diffi-
cult show to produce, because the intimacy of the
story must always remain the focus. In a highly
commendable production, the Stratford Festival has
succeeded in conveying "Othello"'s intimacy with-
out losing any of its energy or intensity.
The story centers around Othello (Ron O'Neal),
a Moor with a prestigious position in the military. He
has just eloped with Desdemona (Lucy Peacock), a
white woman, and everyone is politely disapproving.
But since Othello is such a gifted general and edu-
cated man, they can overlook this interracial mar-
riage; after all, that makes him "more fair than
Black."Butnoteveryone believesthatOthelloshould
live like a white man, so his assistant, Iago (Scott
Wentworth), presumably disgruntled about a missed
promotion, proceeds to poison Othello's mind with
destructive lies about Desdemona.
Director and Stratford veteran Brian Bedford has
set the play in the 1920s, giving this production some
serious advantages. The presence of a uniformed
military is much strengthened, giving the character of
Iago a more defined position; fancy evening gowns
and tuxedos clothe Othello's acquaintances, giving
the whole circle a country club snootiness. Songs in
the play, including one sung by Iago, turn into jazz-
hot torch songs.
Because of this updating, missing is the ethnic
aura which usually surrounds Othello. When he is
draped in African-printed robes, laden with knives
and primitive weapons, Othello appears more threat-
ening tohis colleagues and more exotically attractive
to Desdemona. But we can forgive this otherwise
laudable production this arguable flaw, since strong
performances give this "Othello" such drive.
RonO'Neal endows Othello with all the requisite
eloquence and presence, and ably makes the transi-
tion from man to shell.
What Othello loses in the end is his language;
Shakespeare has given Othello the most high-flown
and metaphoric poetry of any character, which Iago
slowly strips away, leaving a sputtering mess of a
man who can no longer even aspire to that height of
language. O'Neal needn't worry about "Superfly"
any longer.
Resplendent in white and ivory gowns, Lucy
Peacock's Desdemona is a nice match for O'Neal,
with as much intelligence and grace as she has
beauty. Also notable is Dixie Seattle as the sharp-
tongued Emilia.
But the most finely crafted performance in
production is ScottWentworth's asIago.Wentwo s
intensity -whether it be in a glib smirk or a straight-
faced standing-at-attention pose - is ever-present
and he rarely misses a beat in Iago's movements.
All of this is set on another Ming Cho Le
masterpiece. Lee's trademarks are very appropriate
here: a row of walls operated by a fly system, eac
wall dividing the stage into a different depth; back
grounds extending far above the audience's view
providing some wonderfully elegant lines. The co
scheme -you guessed it - black and white, d
to every last bit of furniture.
Brian Bedford does well behind the scenes, and
fuels this production with the same subtle intensity
whichcharges hisperformances. Hisone slipis inthe
last scene, but after all, two murders and a suicide ar
hard to manage.
A parental guidance warning should probabl
accompany this production. Most kids have neve
witnessed a strangling, and it will no doubt elici
scattered giggles, as it did at this matinee. But a
ward laughter aside, most viewers will be shocked b
the contemporary resonance of "Othello." Thanks t
this production, we now see that Shakespearean
tragedy extends far past kingdoms and countries; it
extends into our homes and into our hearts, and that
can be a scary place to be.
OTHELLO runs in repertory through Oct.15 at the
Avon Theatre in Stratford, Ontario. For tickets,
accommodations or information about this or any
other production, call the Stratford Festival box
office at (519) 273-1600.40
:!!
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instead, volume eight of the overall
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as book two of the sub-story "Mothers
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To hell with it, let's examine it in
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"Women" consists of scenes from
severaldifferentindividuals' livesmost
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spersedperiodically).Religious-politi-
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Not that the story is all dark and
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Nothing relieves the tension in a work
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The art is up to Dave Sim and
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andGerhard'smeticulous backgrounds
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Less basically we have a statement by
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