Green-eyed monster strikes!
Bard’s Othello sizzles
by Christopher Key
Last week’s record setting high temperatures inspired Bard on the Beach Artistic Director Christopher Gaze to remind the audience that they were huddling under blankets and he was wearing long woolies on opening night, 2008. Such is Junuary in Lower Mainland British Columbia. The cast and crew of Othello certainly did nothing to lower the temperature inside the Mainstage tent at Vancouver’s Vanier Park.
It was a stroke of genius to schedule this production after last year’s King Lear since the two tragedies have much in common: dysfunctional families, scheming politicians, lots of sex and violence. What’s not to like? Director Dean Paul Gibson has been with Bard for 18 of its 20 seasons and he knows how to get the most from an extraordinary cast.
Michael Blake makes an impressive Bard debut in the title role with a wrenching portrayal of a good man undone by jealousy. Othello, of course, is a Moor. Shakespeare used this device to score some telling points about racism and Gibson pointedly reminds us that real life is not about black and white, but shades of gray.
Bard veteran Bob Frazer should be charged with grand theatrical larceny in his role as Iago, the scheming ensign who concocts a convoluted plot to take revenge on Othello for passing him over for promotion. Complete with a “high-and-tight” military haircut, Frazer takes such boyish pleasure in his machinations that he almost becomes a sympathetic character. I don’t use the term tour-de-force lightly.
Othello’s paramour Desdemona is far too often portrayed as something of a naïf, caught up in maelstrom beyond her comprehension. I expect better from Bard on the Beach and was not disappointed in the least with Naomi Wright’s interpretation. She gives us a strong and sensual Desdemona that makes her ending that much more tragic.
Jennifer Lines, who was so enchanting in last season’s The Tempest, gives a late-blooming, but volcanic portrayal of Iago’s wife Emelia. Her towering outrage at what her husband has done is absolutely flawless.
As always, the entire cast is bulletproof. However, they were not immune to the hot weather, hotter lights and hottest costumes designed by Mara Gottler. Everyone endured the sauna with admirable aplomb and probably lost a few pounds in the process.
This year’s Mainstage set is elegantly simple and the muted colors fit perfectly with the ominous nature of Othello. It will be interesting to see how that works in this year’s other Mainstage production, The Comedy of Errors. That review will be forthcoming in a couple of weeks.
Othello plays in repertory with Comedy through September 25. Reservations are essential and can be made by calling the box office at (604) 739-0559 or by going to www.bardonthebeach.org. Prices range from $18 – $34 and are as big a theatrical bargain as you will find anywhere on the planet. Remember that you will need a passport or enhanced driver’s license at the border this year.
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