A Northern Stage, HOME Manchester and Citizens Theatre co-production, in association with Royal & Derngate. Directed by Anthony Almeida
Theatr Moondance, Theatr Clwyd, Mold, Tues 20 – Sat 24 October 2026
(3.5 / 5)
The story of Othello makes for compelling viewing: racism, jealousy, betrayal, rage, the killing of an innocent wife and a subsequent suicide. The problem is how best to communicate the play to make it meaningful to todays audience. Did this production, directed by Anthony Almeida succeed?
Despite being a Moor, Othello attains the rank of General in the Venetian Army. He marries Desdemona, a Venetian noblewoman in secret before being posted to Cyprus to hold off Turkish invaders. He promotes Cassio as his Lieutenant much to the chagrin of Iago, a lower rank Ensign. Iago, now in a rage, fuelled by a disparaging attitude to Othello, sets about manipulating all around him to poison the relationship between Othello and Desdemona. Othello, beside himself with jealousy suffocates his wife and once he finds out she had been faithful to him is so consumed by grief and guilt that he ends his life.
There were some standout performances from the cast. Dwayne Walcross was convincing and commanding as Othello and two people made their professional stage debut, Will Stanton as Cassio and Phoebe Smith as a captivating and clearly spoken Desdemona. Matthew Sys as Roderigo was also very clear, but the same could not be said of other cast members. I expected more malevolence and duplicity from Iago, and perhaps he delivered that, but it was difficult to hear all that he said.
To contemporise the story, this production sets the play in the Falklands, uses modern military fatigues and a stage which can be surrounded by high fences to replicate an army compound. These are highly appropriate but present a problem, to what extent should the text be altered to accompany the new setting? The company chose not to do this which felt slightly odd, the video screen at the back sited the compound in Port Stanley, but all references to geographical place were in the Eastern Med. Likewise, some directorial decisions were strange. The closing in of the fences to form a cage around the stage to reflect the sense that Othello was trapped in his jealousy was highly effective, but did Desdemona have to scale a 5 metre fence to meet her doom?
The glorious feature of the play is that it is possible to telegraph what will happen. A young person of colour earns a high rank in the army and marries a highly desirable, European noblewoman, much to the distaste of his peers. He is then subjected to a successful, malicious campaign to destroy all that he holds dear and the audience can see it coming enhancing the sense of tragedy. Despite its flaws, this production portrays this tragedy well, captivating those watching and making this a memorable theatre event.
