Othello
C too, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Group: Tin Flag Productions

Natasha Hullugale

A sure tactic to attract fresh interest in a Shakepearean text is to find an ingenious setting. However, reworked versions of Othello are often seen as problematic. A recent television adaptation that saw Othello as a modern day Head of the Metropolitan police force, caused offence to those who interpreted a distinct message that you can take the man out of the ghetto but you can't take the ghetto out of the man.

Ben Spiers of Tin Flag productions has adapted his version of Othello to fit into the Victorian Raj. This is an interesting experiment as the testosterone driven levels of deceit, honour and betrayal are all perfectly disguised under the decent chappish, restrained manners of the era. Another bonus of this production is that the Spartan set and dusky lighting fitted the warm studio space perfectly. With only this dim lighting and the whirring of old fashioned fans overhead, it was easy to envision a sense of place as the atmosphere became increasingly charged and the actors started to look uncomfortably warm.

Aside from a successful minimalist approach stylistically, this version of Othello was fortunate with the three leads who were all studied and intelligent in their performances. Arjun Rao as Othello began with such a smug and preening exercise in supreme confidence that, even though it was expected, his descent into jealous rage appeared shocking and sudden.

Edward Glass and Olivia Danway as Iago and Desdemona were both cleverly restrained in their approach. Moustachioed, Glass could easily have descended into camp and comical villainy, but his manner was an often disturbingly quiet show of cunning. Olivia Danway was captivating in her stillness and economy of extreme emotion. She is an actress who can genuinely defy cliché and be described as luminous.

Tin Flag's interpretation of Othello is worth the time and effort of an audience. It manages successfully to combine its reworked premise of the play with a sharply minimalist approach.

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