Once it was announced that Ewan
McGregor would be playing Iago, it was
virtually guaranteed that this small scale
West End venue would sell out almost
as soon as tickets went on sale.
But, although he gives an adequate
performance as the discontented
manipulator, his is far from a starry
performance. His low key Iago almost
fades into the background, a scheming
catalyst who plants the seed of jealousy
in the trusting Moor's heart and returns
at regular intervals to nurture it till the
tragic end.
Tom Hiddleston's tactile Cassio is far
more showy, a youthful flirt who can't hold
his drink and whose over-familiarity with
Desdemona plays right into Iago's hands.
As Othello's doomed wife, Kelly Reilly is,
at first, a slightly irritating and coquettish
bride, but ultimately proves intensely
moving as she prepares for what will be
her deathbed with the help of Michelle
Fairley's impressive, worldly-wise Emilia.
But in Michael Grandage's
straightforward production (played out
on an almost bare stage, with subtle
lighting and flickering lanterns marking
the shift from Venice to Cyprus) it is
Chiwetel Ejiofor as the noble Moor who
gives the most compelling performance.
As Iago's insidious words take root,
his surprised delight in his new wife is
cruelly replaced by the unfamiliar
tortures of the green-eyed monster,his
face clouds over with an almost
uncomprehending disbelief, and a deep,
deep despair fatally – and memorably –
takes its place.
Louise Kingsley
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