The Waterloo Record, June 06, 2007
Othello captured, body and soul
By: Robert Reid
Othello is William Shakespeare's great romantic tragedy.
The disturbing tale of jealousy and revenge is devoid of fussy sub-plot and comic relief. It moves quickly, relentlessly, irrevocably and irreversibly toward its violent conclusion.
The story unfurls in a domestic rather than a public setting, away from home, over three nights and two days. The isolation and insulation shape events.
This compression of space and time not only concentrates the intensity of the action, it gives the story a titillating intimacy.
It's as if the audience is a collective peeping tom peering through windows from the shadows late at night -- Iago's dark lair.
The nature of the tragedy makes it a perfect play to present at the Stratford Festival's intimate Tom Patterson Theatre, where it opened Saturday afternoon.
David Latham, a veteran classical theatre director and a festival associate artist, offers a production that is both solid and sound, featuring an abundance of first-rate performances.
This isn't the kind of production that ignites eager oohs and aahs at curtain call. Rather, its effect builds, confirming this is a production of substance rather than flash.
Othello is a play with explosive emotion. Nothing gets the blood boiling like jealously, especially sexual jealousy, and revenge.
If anything, Latham keeps a tight hold on the reins. The result is a production that is controlled and understated, for all its dark emotions.
Philip Akin -- the first black Canadian to play the role of Othello in the festival's history -- makes an auspicious debut as Othello the Moor of Venice, a decorated general naive in the ways of the heart.
His is an Othello we relate to as a gifted soldier rather than a noble warrior.
The tragic events hinge on "the most honest" Iago, one of Shakespeare's most lecherous villains.
Reducing human sexuality to base, animalistic lust ("making the beast with two backs"), Iago slips the poison of jealousy in Othello's vulnerable ear.
University of Waterloo grad Jonathan Goad has returned for his eighth festival season after taking last season off.
He's too much the consummate actor to make Iago into a cardboard cut-out of Evil. His portrait loses none of its perverse chill for being subtle and nuanced.
Goad has the dramatic chops. Not since a young Colm Feore has the festival nurtured a young actor with more charisma born of raw acting talent.
Claire Julien deports herself with restrained dignity as Othello's wife Desdemona, but it's Lucy Peacock who penetrates the emotional depths as Iago's conflicted wife Emilia.
Jeffrey Wetsch does a good job as Othello's disgraced lieutenant Cassio and Gordon Miller turns in a persuasive dupe as Roderigo.
Carolyn M. Smith's set is minimalist and her costumers serve the production well by reflecting its essence.
Othello is a tragedy of shadows and is captured perfectly by Michael J. Whitfield's lighting design.
This might not be a stunningly memorable Othello in the category of Robin Phillips' celebrated production with a young Feore as a serpent-like Iago.
Rather, it reminds us that Shakespeare can work his magic in subtle and evocative ways.