Tuesday, August 21, 2007

For a fiver: Othello@Shakespeare's Globe

Sometime in high school, my brother brought home a cool Othello comic book. Since then, Desdemona has been one of my favorite Shakespearean characters, alongside Ophelia, Portia, Viola, Rosalind, and Beatrice--extremes, huh?

For £5, you can stand (no sitting until intermission) for a little over three hours in the yard of Shakespeare's globe, exposed to the elements as the groundlings of the Bard's time were. Fortunately for us, it didn't rain during the show. But eight airplanes flew overhead through the course of the show, giving the lapel mic-less actors competition.

Initially, I thought Tim McInnerny (Iago) didn't look the part, but boy was he superb. What a cunning monster. I had not seen Eamonn Walker (Othello) on TV (Justice, Oz) before. I had a hard time understanding some of his words, and his emotional build-up came too early. Zoe Tapper (Desdemona) reminded me of Reese Witherspoon. Crystalline voice, immaculate portrayal. Sam Crane was so funny as a naive Roderigo.

After three characters are killed in the final scene, the cast dances during the bows. How Zatoichi-like is that?

Photography is forbidden, but that doesn't stop these Flickrites.

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