It is a few years since I have graced a theatre for a Shakespeare play, but the glowing reviews for Othello at the National (http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/) persuaded me it was time I went again. Indeed several of my friends had posted glowing comments on their Facebook pages.
Othello isn't a play I know intimately, I have the gist of the story and the characters. I did not realise it was so long, nor so funny in parts.
Nicholas Hytner's version with lighting by Jon Clark and designs by Vicki Mortimer is a triumph. The contemporary setting works well, without any obvious clunky references to objects that couldn't possibly be lying around! After all, it is about a general!
The cast is great and all equally deserving of praise. Olivia Vinall's Desdemona's final scene was very moving. Adrian Lester, well known on television, gave a gripping performance as Othello. And Rory Kinnear's Iago was compelling. To see him playing one person off against another, inciting murder or revenge was fascinating.
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