From The Guardian

Othello review – history is made with RSC's fresh take on the tragedy

Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
The stereotype of the ‘noble Moor’ is dismantled in Iqbal Khan’s shrewd, modern-dress production starring Hugh Quarshie and Lucian Msamati

By Michael Billington

Friday 12 June 2015

Iqbal Khan’s gripping production has already made history by being the first at Stratford to cast a black actor as Iago. But I had not anticipated how many fascinating ideas such an imaginative piece of casting would provoke.

For a start, it reinforces the historic bond between Othello and Iago, and helps to explain the trust the former places in his ensign. By making Othello the commander of a multi-racial unit, Khan also exposes the unresolved tensions in the group: you can see exactly why Iago would detest a Caucasian Cassio who tries to show his kinship with the men by taking part in a rap contest during the Cypriot drinking scene. And one of Khan’s shrewdest touches, in this modern-dress production, is to dismantle the stereotype of Othello as the “noble Moor” by showing that he sanctions waterboarding by his troops and is prepared to use torture to get Iago to cough up details of Desdemona’s presumed infidelity.

Any production, however, rests on the performances. Hugh Quarshie is an excellent Othello torn between ancient loyalties and his assimilationist position, between his aching love for Desdemona and his easily fostered insecurity. My one cavil is that Quarshie sometimes resists the propulsive rhythm of the verse by inserting naturalistic pauses.

But his strong Othello is reinforced by Lucian Msamati’s outstanding Iago who reminds me of Auden’s definition of the character as “the joker in the pack”. Msamati gives us an outwardly genial figure, ready to laugh at Roderigo’s insulting description of Othello as “the thicklips”, but full of thwarted racial pride: he, more than Othello, is the play’s outsider who resents both assumed white superiority and Othello’s integrationist tactics.

Joanna Vanderham is a striking Desdemona, combining a tactile physicality with total devotion to Othello. Ciaran Bagnall’s set and lighting, emphasising the text’s aquatic motif, and Akintayo Akinbode’s percussive score, add to the impact of a production that makes us see a familiar tragedy from a totally fresh perspective.

Questions and Tasks:

1. Find the key words leading to the understanding of the author’s intention.

2. What’s the topic of the article?

3. What’s the main idea of the article? Where is it formulated?

4. According to what pattern is the information in the article arranged?

5. What’s the author’s attitude to the problem?

6. Are you familiar with problem? What’s your background knowledge of the problem?

7. What’s your attitude to the problem? Do you support the author’s point of view or not?

8. Render the article in the English language according to the plan.

Read the following article, answer the questions and do the tasks below.

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