The Stage

Othello

Published Friday 10 February 2006 at 12:55 by James Green

The Bard is getting to be a favourite son of this flourishing south-east London repertory company. This is the fifth of his plays.

The first four - Hamlet, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice and a Second World War update of Macbeth - all did sell-out business here and Othello is on line to do the same.

It has been adapted to what is described as “any time” which allows a spot of singing by Edith Piaf. Whether the cast are in Venice or Cyprus there is just the one white set throughout. Most of the 11-strong company wear a uniform of grey nylon shirt, trousers cut off below the knee with skirts for the ladies.

They are all barefoot and as a result the powerful and commanding Othello of Charles Agiama summons up memories of Yul Brynner’s King of Siam. And he is just as powerfully prominent. He makes a commanding figure but it would help his performance if his words were a mite louder.

While on the subject of delivery, during the early scenes the talk was gabbled too fast which presented difficulty in latching on to the revered lines.

This ‘lusty moor’ is suitably towering and noble yet somewhat simple to fall for the silky villainy of Christian Olliver’s Iago. The latter weaves his evil convincingly to the despair of an excellent Desdemona (Stephanie Richards), and her companion, Emilia, played by Melissa Franklyn who spoke the words loud and clear.

Graham Morris-Almond was a suitably cringing Roderigo, and Alex Tripper’s Cassio was a handsome winner at the end on a stage littered with bodies. Nothing like corpses, blood and thunder to please the groundlings.