Othello

Sharmill Films continues its very worthy presentation of the National Theatre Live film series with Nicholas Hytner’s production of Shakespeare’s Othello, starring Adrian Lester as the Moor and Rory Kinnear as Iago. The contemporary setting in a Middle Eastern military base, with the cast dressed in combat greens, serves once again to underscore the timelessness of Shakespeare’s work and the depressing realisation that human nature has barely changed one jot since this work was first staged back in the 17^th century.

As director Hytner points out in the pre-show interview, this truly is a play which could have been written yesterday. Betrayal, manipulation, boozing, lust, prejudice and blind anger abound – this is a story driven by base passions, and one which requires a great deal of energy from the cast. All the performers were exemplary, with Kinnear taking centre stage as the driven and duplicitous Iago, who contrives a particularly nasty plan to turn his commander Othello (a truly torturous role, played with great conviction and verve by Adrian Lester) against his newlywed wife Desdemona, ably played by Olivia Vinall. A special mention should also be made of Lyndsey Marshal who as Iago’s wife Emilia delivered a knockout performance in the big ‘revelation’ scene.

The set design, built on interlocking military-style “cells” and tiny command centres, evokes a suitably claustrophobic atmosphere and emphasises this is a play about soldiers, a tight-knit company in difficult circumstances. For those who (like me) are unfamiliar with the story, there’s no need to be concerned about making sense of Shakespearean dialogue – the actors are all eloquent enough in their performances to make everything perfectly understandable. This is a gripping, tragic, moving, mighty soap opera of a play – in the sense that the audience are often one step ahead of the characters, dreading what’s going to happen and yet hanging on for those moments. It’s great theatre and this is a terrific performance, thankfully captured in high-def for us to enjoy.

Alex Paige

Images: Desdemona (Olivia Vinall) and Othello (Adrian Lester) &  Iago (Rory kKnnear) and Othello (Adrian Lester). Photos by johan Persson

Visit www.sharmillfilms.com.au for details.