Everything seemed so perfect on paper- an RSC production of Shakespeare’s great tragedy Othello - what could possibly go wrong? There are just a few problems with this production. For one thing, it’s dragged out to 3 1/2 hours (and it feels like it), there’s some very patchy acting and a general lack of chemistry amongst the cast a whole. I don’t think this is going to go down as a seminal interpretation and it has too many flaws to be a solid production.
In the title role, I found Patrice Naimbana’s performance rather bizarre to say the least (and that’s being polite). He had a very strange, mannered way of delivering his lines that entirely failed to convince me. Having heard excellent reports of his performances in the Histories, this may well be an unfortunate case of miscasting, or maybe I just didn’t get what he was doing. Likewise, Michael Gould failed to convince as Iago, the only real menace from his performance coming from being made to resemble Hitler in his khaki uniform and hairstyle (it’s the side parting) than his acting. His frantic, making it up as he went along approach otherwise could otherwise have been quite interesting. Natalia Tena as Desdemona (who I remember seeing as the raucous, vulgar ‘winged goddess’ Fevvers in Kneehigh’s Nights at the Circus- quite a different role) was effective in showing Desdemona’s femininity and rebelliousness (the best of Shakespeare’s ‘ingenue’ roles?) and I liked Tamzin Griffith’s performance as Emilia, the woman who won’t stop talking.
The set is minimalist, the most striking aspect being the bridge that brings Othello and Desdemona together. The courtship was well played in the background while Iago and Roderigo’s conversations were going on. The 1940s/50s setting shows a society where casual racism was still permitted, with Roderigo (played uncannily like Manuel from Fawlty Towers) singing You Made Me Love You in crude blackface like an unhinged Al Joslon and holding a grotesquely sexualised life size doll of Desdemona giving birth to a golliwog (how very topical…). The arrival scene at Cyprus was effectively done, with Desdemona dressed in a very Jackie Kennedy-esque pink suit, being photographed and treated like a princess in this male dominated world- an idealisation that soon turns sour. The death scenes lacked emotional impact and the most unsettling thing was Iago’s manic laughter at the end. The music is a strange mixture of tribal chants that kept being repeated- I personally found it rather grating and it didn’t really help build up the atmosphere.
I know this was ‘only’ a preview and the cast may settle into their roles better as the tour progresses. However, for an RSC production of Othello, I had hoped for something a bit more impressive and couldn’t shake off that feeling of disappointment.
(ETA: the critics seem to disagree with me, particularly regarding Naimbana. Perhaps I should stick to my comfort zones of musical theatre and social comedy. But I don’t think those with dissenting views should be made to keep quiet- otherwise I never would have been able to say how I thought August: Osage County was such rubbish.)
