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A special mention must go to the fantastic Tom Gill as he portrayed the wrongly accused Cassio, who had some of the most intricate moments of choreography in the show. Othello plays at the York Theatre Royal until Saturday 22 October when it continues its tour across England, finishing in early February 2023. Betrayed by the twisted Roderigo (Felipe Pacheco), Gill brought an air of innocence to his character — which made us as the audience feel protective as he was frequently mistreated and manhandled. My eyes were drawn to his character throughout the entire performance. The cast of Othello Frantic Assembly’s choreography is often extremely complex, yet their numerous movement sequences always look effortlessly performed.
Think Shameless or This Is England; a bar with a pool table and a slot machine; bottled beers; everyone off their heads or on a short fuse in high-street zip tops, trainers, hoodies, stretchy sportswear and joggers. One long Friday night, full of broken glass, jealousy, betrayal, revenge and the darkest intents; a darker brew of John Godber's Bouncers, where the booze meets the bruise. York Notes for A Level on Othello is the ultimate companion to William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy and will help you get to grips with all dimensions of the text. Exploring aspects of the work including the play’s genre, structure, characters, historical context and symbolism, this comprehensiverevision guide to Othello at A Level and AS will help you to write the very best examination responses and secure the best grade you can.This mechanism of capture that exerts its force over the characters of Cyprus also occurs within Othello himself. The play refers on a number of occasions to jealousy as an innate force that cannot be planted, but instead grows from within and consumes itself and its host. Othello falls prey to the illusion of his own strength and power, and the jealousy it hides, just as Cyprus gives the illusion of providing a haven from the workings of the law.
Act 3, scene 1 Cassio arrives with musicians to honor Othello and Desdemona. As Iago has recommended, Cassio asks Emilia to arrange a meeting with Desdemona, even though Emilia assures him that Desdemona is already urging Othello to reinstate him. Act 2, scene 1 The Turkish fleet is destroyed in a storm, while Cassio and then Desdemona, Emilia, and Iago arrive safely at Cyprus. Desdemona anxiously waits for Othello. When his ship arrives, he and Desdemona joyfully greet each other. Iago, putting his plot into action, persuades Roderigo that Desdemona is in love with Cassio and that Roderigo should help get Cassio dismissed from the lieutenancy. In the first act of Othello, Cyprus is clearly not such a world; it is a territory of Venice, to which Othello and company are called as a matter of state. As soon as the Turkish threat has been eliminated, however, the characters seem to lose their connection to Venetian society, and, with its festivities and drunken revelry, Cyprus then seems to have more in common with the alien, pastoral worlds of many of Shakespeare’s comedies. True to the ever-popular Frantic Assembly style, Othello is alive with energy. House music envelopes the audience, drowning out all other sounds so we are instantly caught up in the world of the play. The tempo of the performance is set with a fast-paced opening sequence showing flirtations, fights, and power struggles, finally establishing Othello as the all-powerful, magnetic leader of men. Michael Akinsulire excels as Othello, capturing the strength and charisma that makes the character so admired in the first half of the play, before collapsing into wide-eyed paranoia during the second. Also impressive is Joe Layton as Iago, who skilfully conveys the false jocularity that makes Shakespeare’s most cunning villain seem so trustworthy.The pinnacle of his performance was towards the end of the show at the height of the tragedies, showing the true range of Akinsulire’s skills as an actor as he discovered the devastating truth behind the ongoing secrets and lies. At many points, in fact, the plot of Othello resembles those of Shakespeare comedies in that it is based upon misrecognition and jealousy. The resemblances to comedy suggest that the misunderstandings of the play will be recognized and all will live happily ever after. But Cyprus, unlike the forest of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is still connected to Venetian society, and the arrival of Lodovico strengthens the Venetian presence and reminds Othello of the necessity of safeguarding his societal and political reputation. Cyprus, then, becomes a sort of trap, a false escape, in which the societal norms that seem to have disappeared reemerge to capture the transgressors.
Katie Macintyre’s Desdemona was sweet and guileless, with a true note of desperate horror, as she begged for her life. Act 2, scene 3 Iago gets Cassio drunk, making it easy for Roderigo to provoke Cassio into a brawl, first with Roderigo, then with Montano, whom he wounds. Othello, called from his bed by the noise, stops the brawl and strips Cassio of his lieutenancy. Iago advises Cassio to seek Desdemona’s help in getting reinstated. The next step in Iago’s plan is to tell Othello that Desdemona supports Cassio because Cassio is her lover. Similarly, when Bianca enters and chides Cassio for giving her a handkerchief she believes to be a love token from some other woman, she talks as though she never had almost the exact same conversation with Cassio in Act III, scene iv. The play’s unrealistic lapses, repetitions, expansions, and contractions may contribute to the audience’s sense that Iago’s power is almost like that of a charmer invoking a kind of magic. Entire Play In Venice, at the start of Othello, the soldier Iago announces his hatred for his commander, Othello, a Moor. Othello has promoted Cassio, not Iago, to be his lieutenant.Iago crudely informs Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, that Othello and Desdemona have eloped. Before the Venetian Senate, Brabantio accuses Othello of bewitching Desdemona. The Senators wish to send Othello to Cyprus, which is under threat from Turkey. They bring Desdemona before them. She tells of her love for Othello, and the marriage stands. The Senate agrees to let her join Othello in Cyprus.In Cyprus, Iago continues to plot against Othello and Cassio. He lures Cassio into a drunken fight, for which Cassio loses his new rank; Cassio, at Iago’s urging, then begs Desdemona to intervene. Iago uses this and other ploys—misinterpreted conversations, insinuations, and a lost handkerchief—to convince Othello that Desdemona and Cassio are lovers. Othello goes mad with jealousy and later smothers Desdemona on their marriage bed, only to learn of Iago’s treachery. He then kills himself. I have seen some excellent productions of Othello in my time (the Sheffield Crucible production starring Clarke Peters and Dominic West from The Wire leaps to mind), but this is undoubtedly the most compelling version I have encountered.The York Notes on Othello cover a range of essential key skills such as extract analysis, responding to quotations or viewpoints and using critical interpretations and perspectives. Students who do well in their responses to questions on Othello at A Level are likely to have shown the examiner that they have a detailed knowledge of Othello’s motivations in killing Desdemona, the role that Iago plays in corrupting Othello and the importance of the dual setting in Venice and Cyprus. They will also be able to draw on a range of critical viewpoints to enhance their own interpretation of the drama. Cyprus serves as a contrast to Venice, a place where the normal structures and laws governing civil society cease to operate. Such a world is common within Shakespeare’s plays, though far more prevalent in his comedies. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It, for example, the forest functions as an unstructured, malleable world in which the characters can transgress societal norms, work out their conflicts, and then return to society with no harm done. I encourage all Shakespeare fans or anyone looking for a night out full to the brim with drama to watch this show — you don’t want to miss it!
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