The Tragedy of Othello

Othello is perhaps the most exciting of all Shakespeare's tragedies. The text is a tinderbox of cultural tensions between Black and White, Male and Female, East and West. But Judith Williams' Experimental Theater production loses the excitement entirely. Most of the players are as insensitive and lifeless as high school students forced to memorize and recite Shakespeare for a grade.

What a tragedy.

Othello's very evident aggregation of wasted and misdirected talent exacerbates the woe. Jeff Branion has remarkable stage presence as Othello, but his considerable energies dissipate in delivery. Jonathan Hamel displays flashes of brilliance as Iago, but his overall characterization seems more vaudevillian than menacing.

Stumbling over their lines, cast members have difficulty establishing any rapport with one another--interaction is, for the most part, flat and unconvincing. The opening scene between Iago, Roderigo and Brabantio is almost embarassing to watch.

Othello is very clearly underrehearsed and under-directed. The play is unexpurgated and far too long for the unprepared players to sustain with any interest. Despite the location, little is experimental about this production. Iago occasionally breaks the fourth wall, but this technique more often distracts than engages the audience.

The only real change in the text--the conversion of the Duke of Venice to the Duchess of Venice--is a cutesy, annoying attempt at originality. Emilia's "ills that we do" speech to Desdemona in Act IV, scene 4, explains that men wield all the power in the play. More than simple cross-casting, Williams' decision is a script revision that helps to undermine the strength of Othello's clear and present gender tensions.

This play is almost as poorly produced as it is directed. Jonathan Quander's sets and costumes are uninspired, and the use of stage space is egregious. Though many scenes creatively utilize the balconies, Quander has unwisely placed a runway that extends from the mainstage. In addition, several of the runway scenes are staged with the actors' and actresses' backs facing half the audience at a time. Better blocking could save some scenes, but in those scenes staged beneath the back balcony, the action is invisible to some audience members.

The production is not without its merits. Tom Chick provides a creative, exciting interpretation of Cassio as a befuddled yet well-intentioned swash-buckler. Nell Benjamin creates an attractive and spirited Desdemona, and John Haddon, with his rich accent and beautiful eloqution, is occasionally poetic in delivering Lodovico's lines.

But Williams fails to fuse these individual performances into a strong vision of Othello--indeed, she fails to display any profound vision at all. It is unfortunate that such a vital and ever-timely script must, like Othello himself, be smote thus.