Poetry versus prose; a balance seen throughout Shakespeare’s tragedies. The elegant, effervescent, emotional language of the tragic hero set against the inward-looking, low-level gutter tactics of the scoundrel who’s out to get him. Lear has his Edmund to contend with, but perhaps more than in any other Shakespeare tragedy, the epitome of the great man brought down by a lowlife is embodied in Othello and Iago. And there’s no doubt that Tim Carroll’s new production for the RSC conveys those opposites effectively. However, despite several excellent technical aspects, and good story-telling skills, there are also many ways in which this production disappoints.
On entering the auditorium you are met with a shimmering curtain made of what looks like gauze strips plunging down from the roof in a box shape. As the performance begins, the box is seen to contain fifteen or so cast members singing with rousing operatic skills one of composer James Oxley’s specially written pieces for the production. It sets a formal, alien, but very stylish tone. The music returns occasionally throughout the show; always immaculately delivered and a treat for the ear, but as a refreshing musical sorbet rather than integral to the piece.
The shimmering curtain also appears at the back of the stage, swooshing in and out to provide a place for the characters to hide offstage but still be part of the scene; it’s visually intriguing and stimulating. Apart from the occasional presence of the shimmering box the stage is bare – giving plenty of opportunities for our imaginations to fill in the scenes. The lighting, too, casts many an atmosphere over the proceedings, and Judith Bowden’s costume design has gone down the traditional route, with a goodly amount of doublet and hose and a plethora of bustles.
Unfortunately, it’s when we come to the content of the performance that things start to fall apart. At the heart of the problem is Will Keen’s performance as Iago. Iago hides in plain sight, usually as a likeable confident, able to hold his swagger with the best of them, so that it’s a true shock to everyone when his real character is revealed. However, this Iago is a sneaky, whiny, snidey, muttering dogsbody who tends to inwardly converse rather than share his thoughts with the audience. You sense he concocts his wicked plans in real time, rather than their being well planned, and he amuses himself with his own duplicity. Although this portrayal of Iago is totally believable in itself, I find it hard to believe this would be the kind of person that Othello would have considered to be worthy of becoming his most trusted ancient.
It also sets the tone for the rest of the production – an Othello devoid of emotion, distant, detached, bloodless, and surprisingly high in cynical humour. In fact I’ve never seen a production of Othello that is so played for laughs. Regrettably, this works against the play’s essential tragedy so that the moments of high drama are lost. It really should not be the case that Iago’s murder of his wife Emilia is a cause for laughter; let’s face it, domestic violence is not funny. The ultimate act of horror in the play, when Othello kills Desdemona, is unexpectedly performed in total darkness, as if to deny it’s really happening. All we can hear is some uncomfortable scuffling, like the sound of a fishmonger trying to restrain a feisty flounder flapping around on a slab. I’m afraid it was quite ludicrous.
There is a sense of the production being stylised for stylisation’s sake. I could not understand, for example, why characters would walk towards the stage along the aprons and then hover in stagey dramatic mode before entering it. It looks pompous. As the end-of-play deaths increase, Emilia and Othello calmly join Desdemona within the shimmering box of doom, like a trio of isolated computer viruses destined to cause no harm. And the scene where Iago wounds Cassio and murders Roderigo takes place without them being anywhere near each other, each in their own spotlight; it had all the dramatic intensity of Tess Daly revealing that Cassio would be up against Roderigo in the dance-off.
Whereas Will Keen is very at ease putting his own spin on Iago’s prose, John Douglas Thompson seems less at ease with Othello’s poetic speeches, especially in the first act where it often feels more like a recital than a lived experience. He warms up considerably after the interval where, gripped by the green eyed monster, he literally buckles under the weight of torment and gives a powerful portrayal of a great man totally broken.
There is one highpoint of absolute dramatic tension, when Othello grips Iago by the throat in his fury; it stands out as being a genuine “letting-go” moment, but even so its power is reduced by Iago’s post-clutch semi-comic reaction. Jethro Skinner’s well-pitched Roderigo is only very lightly foppish, although Colin Hurley’s Brabantio is more of a pantomime buffoon, and John Paul Connolly makes the most of his appearance as the Duke of Venice.
Juliet Rylance gives us a very clear, demure and uncomplicated Desdemona, but it is only Anastasia Hille who truly gets under the skin of her character Emilia with some devastatingly eviscerating speeches that seal her fate at the hands of her villainous husband.
Even then, because of the frigid nature of the entire production, there’s no emotional reaction to Emilia’s fate, nor indeed, anyone’s. The essentially cerebral, delicate and remote stylisation tells the story clearly but also becomes monotonous, which must be a cardinal sin in a production of this most vibrant and eloquent of Shakespeare’s plays.
Production photos by Johan Persson
Two Disappointing For More!
I was very disappointed by this production. At the interval, my wife said she liked the quality of the acting, but there was something missing. By the end, I knew what that was: pretty much all the action.
We were essentially given the text, but only 50% of the play and left with a weirdly static dramatic reading on a bare and propless set. The one time Othello laid his hands on Iago, along with Emilia and Desdemona’s interaction during the “Willow” scene, were the only moments when it resembled a drama rather than an intellectual exercise. The staging simply failed to engage me. I think it is telling that the press publicity photo fronting up most of the reviews is of that single Othello/Iago moment. Picture editors know what drama is.
Will Keen was interesting, but often rushed and inaudible up in the circle. That wasn’t just my deteriorating hearing, because a group of students in front of me made the same comment at the break. He had his head down too much, talking to the stage. That’s a failure of acting technique 101 and should not have happened. I did, however, like the feeling of Iago riding the crest of a wave of malice, picking up and using whatever opportunity presented itself, which is something that I see as a keynote aspect of his character. He is a plotter, but not a planner and gets tripped up by the speed with which things unravel.
That would be my final point. After Venice and once on Cyprus, the action covers less than two days. Othello is an intense, tragic domestic incident built around the brilliant, but psychopathic manipulation of a man who needs to believe in himself totally in order to survive in a hostile world. Iago’s evil game is so horribly clever as to be almost exquisite. But thoughts and words need the robust hurly-burly of drinking games, and brawling, and a tragically loaded bed to give them somewhere to work as drama. They have to play out in reality. This production got rid of all that, physically isolated the actors for most of the time, and consequently failed for me as theatre.
Thanks for your comments Martin, you make great points! The whole thing was too inward looking and cerebral to work as drama – you’re completely right about the promotional photo – and I can well believe that you didn’t catch everything Iago said in the circle, with his muttering downwards; I didn’t hear it all in row d of the stalls! It had some interesting ideas but they don’t always convert to a rewarding experience onstage. Best wishes, Chris
I wonder whether you attended the same play as I did! I clearly “got” the performance and you didn’t!
I liked the more subtle manipulative portrayal of Iago. For the record Will Keen didn’t mumble – ever! However he did moderate the dynamics of his delivery saving the quietest of delivery for his most evil thoughts. However in this age of television where volumes can be adjusted I do wonder whether this degree of subtly is beyond some critics.
This is a minimal production. One that suits the space of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre very well.
It isn’t a production where there are graphic fight scenes; with the exceptions of the death of Emilia and Othello’s suicide, the deaths are left to the imagination.
This production let’s Shakespeare’s text speak for itself. I found that a positive, but in the age of instant gratification, particularly associated with Social Media, that is clearly a problem for some.
I liked it and felt that the portrayals of Othello, Desdemona, Emilia and Iago were all strong. In particular Will Keen’s portrayal of Iago allowed the true nature of Machiavellian Schemer to build right up until (spoiler alert) Emilia reveals his treachery.
Thanks for your comments Joanna. A review can only ever be one person’s opinion and it would be a sorry state if we all liked the same thing. I’m all for experimental theatre and trying new things out, and a playwright like Shakespeare is certainly big and strong enough to look after himself. I always appreciate a bare stage and the chance for the audience to use their imagination. And I’m all for having the text speak for itself too. I have to disagree with you on the clarity of Will Keen’s delivery, as the previous commenter pointed out, some of it was impossible to hear. But I’m glad you enjoyed it!
“I do wonder whether this degree of subtly is beyond some critics.” I can confirm that in the centre front row of the first balcony, Iago was either inauadible or incomprehensible for most of he play. His acting might well have suited a TV production, where every nuance is amplified; from the balcony he came across as a nervous sixth former, reluctant to project beyond the edge of the stage.
Thanks Paul, I think you’ve absolutely nailed it!
I don’t think it was particularly experimental!
I wear a hearing aid that I’d accidentally left out. I heard every word and yet I have measured mild to moderate hearing loss. I do wonder whether your critic has an undiagnosed hearing issue. There was no issue with Will Keen’s delivery in the slightest.
Happy to agree to disagree!
I do question your hearing in the nicest of ways.
I had impaired eyesight; I got glasses. I then encouraged pupils who had difficulty seeing to see an optician; they invariably came back with glasses.
Then due to a medical condition I developed monaural hearing loss (atypical – it’s a reverse slope rather than age-related). I got a hearing aid.
I now spot hearing loss too. It’s either wax (very treatable) or something that needs to be addressed by an audiologist – but modern hearing aids are great and the evidence on protecting against cognitive decline through correction of hearing compelling.
Will Keen doesn’t mumble. He does use a pianissimo (though projected) delivery at times through his performance of Iago.
As someone with considerable musical training, I found this compelling and dramatic, but if you have problems with speech differentiation – especially at lower dynamics, I fully understand how this can cause a problem.
In an age of amplified sound (which in itself can contribute to hearing loss) the use of a projected pianissimo can be alien. However I have one excellent ear and I found it rather compelling. I lost the stereo, but I’d unfortunately left my hearing aid in my hotel room. But I realised this was my problem and, as my heating loss fluctuates I frequently lose stereo even with the hearing aid.
My experience of hearing loss is that is nothing to be ashamed of and that modern digital hearing aids are brilliant. This is an eminently treatable issue that once resolved is a game changer and has numerous benefits.
I left my glasses at home this morning but alas, I can still decipher the comments made by Ms Debenham in order to label them as the most pretentious pieces of garbage I’ve ever read. Perhaps instead of telling us about your medical history, you could spend the time going on a crash course about how to speak to people you’ve never met before on the Internet.
P.S. I hope you “get” the sarcasm.
Pretentious Garbage! Are you sure you were not proof-reading.
Get your hearing checked. I was trying to be kind and relatable. Clearly empathy isn’t your start suit.
Will Keen didn’t mumble at all in his performance. If you couldn’t hear it, then it is you that has the problem.
Oh and it is Mrs Debenham or Joanna not Ms.
Its nice to know attention to detail is a strong suit. It wasn’t the poster of the article who commented. I’m merely pointing out that you come across as rude and perhaps needed a taste of your own medicine.
Perhaps a second visit to Specsavers is in order to get your sight tested as well.
Rude! Don’t make me laugh. They were very rude.
Pretentious: attempting to impress by affecting greater importance or merit than is actually possessed.
Your comment, “I clearly “got” the performance and you didn’t!” is markedly pretentious, and shows not only rudeness but snobbery and entitlement. Do better.
But you didn’t! I have seen it and liked it. It lets the text speak.
You were not alone; the arts critic from the Daily Telegraph missed the point of the production too.
Without veering to misandry, there are men who are challenged by women with strong opinions who challenge their intellect. That is misogyny.
Ironic then that the play in question is Othello. It is a mixture of pride and jealousy that cause Othello’s fall – a fall that is caused by the Machiavellian manipulation of Iago who is also motivated by pride and jealousy. The character who finally exposed the deceit is Emilia: poor down-trodden thick Emilia (if one is to believe Iago) who finally demonstrates a backbone and opens everyone else’s eyes to Iago’s true nature.
Swallow your pride and accept it’s you that has the problem and not Tim Carroll the director or Will Keen in his depiction of Iago. And neither is it me.
I found this production subtle. There were not the swash-buckling sword fights or visceral violence. Rather the violence was suggested without the need for pints of stage-blood.
Iago was portrayed as a psychopath: superficially charming hence “honest Iago” was a fiction that was very credible; it was only the audience, through the delivery of the soliloquies that were able to fathom the evil and quite calculating intentions of Iago’s cold mind.
You have been very condescending. How dare the “little woman” dare to contradict me and question my intellect? Actually Shakespeare has an answer for that too. After all he says of Hermia “Though she is but little, she is fierce” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream Act 3 Scene 2).
So you didn’t like it. I did. So it’s had mixed reviews: I’ve disagreed with critics in the past – with justification.
However I am not pretentious. But you are arrogant.
In the interests of free speech I always allow comments on my posts provided they don’t use bad language. But I think it’s time that we draw a line under this conversation. Joanna, I don’t think anything I said could be construed as condescending to “the little woman”, that’s not who I am at all. As I said earlier, a review can only be one person’s own opinion, and we must therefore agree to disagree. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I’m not sure you have appreciated that the more recent comments here have come from someone else and not me. Either way, I think it’s best if this conversation is now ended, and I will only allow further discussion if it is about something different!
I also happen to think that certain aspects of the delivery were very quiet. Perhaps the commenter above had their hearing aid on too high a setting?
An interesting a review. Although I don’t share all of your concerns with the show, I did have issues with the portrayal of Iago. This wasn’t a man who Othello would have promoted or trusted. His shifty countenance and various ticks would have made the other characters wary too. We saw the show last night (20 November)and both Iago and Emilia were barely audible at time and Will Keen definitely slurred and mumbled his lines at times. I had put Anastasia Hille’s understated and lifeless delivery down to an illness and/or issue with her throat until she suddenly burst into life when she discovers that her husband is the instigator of the piece.
I have to agree with all your comments Mark!