Synopsis Othello, a Moor, falls in love with Desdemona but is broken by jealousy falsely encouraged. Shakespeare's most human play sets delicacy and power, trust and jealousy, love and hate, good and evil in stark and tragic opposition. Powerless in the face of their own self destructive instincts, the characters are caught on a downward spiral towards inevitable tragedy.
Michael Grandage’s much-anticipated (and long sold-out) production of Othello - starring Ewan McGregor as Iago, Kelly Reilly as Desdemona and Chiwetel Ejiofor in the title role (See Today’s 1st Night Photos) - opened at the Donmar Warehouse last night (4 December, previews from 30 November) with tickets going for as high as Ł2000 on eBay.
The production of the tragedy, the first Shakespeare that Grandage has directed at the Donmar, caps off his first five years as artistic director of the small (at 250 seats) but highly influential Covent Garden theatre. During his tenure to date, Grandage has personally directed ten award-winning productions, including Caligula, Henry IV, Grand Hotel, The Wild Duck and the premiere of Frost/Nixon, which transferred to the West End and Broadway.
He’s previously directed Ejiofor in The Vortex and Reilly in After Miss Julie at the Donmar and directed McGregor when he made his Whatsonstage.com Award-winning musical stage debut in the Donmar’s West End revival of Guys and Dolls at the Piccadilly Theatre.
In addition to the three leads, the Othello company features Tom Hiddleston as Cassio, Michelle Fairley as Emilia and Edward Bennett as Roderigo, and also includes Michael Hadley, Michael Jenn, Martina Laird, David Mara, Alastair Sims and James Laurenson. The production is designed by Christopher Oram, with lighting by Paule Constable and music and sound by Adam Cork.
With a solid four stars from most of the first night critics, only the Daily Telegraph’s Charles Spencer left last night’s opening wholly dissatisfied, labelling the production “a glum evening”. All eyes were trained particularly beadily on the show’s biggest star attraction, Ewan McGregor, who many critics found somewhat wanting and “insufficiently complex”, his natural charm working against him in the role of villain Iago. There was admiration for Kelly Reilly’s “captivating” Desdemona and other supporting parts, though the highest praise was reserved for Chiwetel Ejiofor and his “beautifully spoken” and “revelatory” title role performance.
Maxwell Cooter on Whatsonstage.com (four stars) - “As the manipulator of much of the action, much of the attention naturally focuses on Iago, particularly as being played here by Ewan McGregor, in his Shakespearean debut … He’s a plain-speaking Iago. And while he’s well able to mask the character’s machinations, what we don’t get is any justification for his actions … McGregor’s rather flat delivery leaves his Iago totally inscrutable. Not so Kelly Reilly’s captivating Desdemona. Here’s a picture of a young woman totally in love with her man and genuinely bemused as he turns against her. She’s no wide-eyed innocent, but rather a woman totally at ease with her sexuality, flirting openly with Tom Hiddleston’s impressive Cassio – and thereby making Iago’s accusations all too believable. There’s a strong performance too from Michelle Fairley as Emilia … However, all the actors are upstaged by the superb Chiwetel Ejiofor as Othello … Ejiofor eschews the trend to portray Othello as some latent psychopath. His verse-speaking is first-rate, his dignified, softly-spoken Moor always compelling. This is an excellent production of Othello. It’s a hot ticket all right, and maybe unconscionably dear, but it will be worth it if you can get one.”
Benedict Nightingale in The Times (four stars) - “To watch McGregor simply standing at the back and directing his laser eyes at Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Othello, Kelly Reilly’s Desdemona or Tom Hiddleston’s Cassio is to believe that they are in the clutches of an authentic monster. And last night all three of his victims proved as adroit with Shakespeare’s language and emotions as one had expected, given that Michael Grandage was directing, and doing so with his usual flair, care and respect for the text … Grandage’s handling of the relationship between that wife and her supposed lover is particularly effective. You never doubt that Reilly’s Desdemona is innocent, but she’s a touchy-feely girl who sinuously yet unselfconsciously exudes sexuality. And Hiddleston’s Cassio is equally demonstrative, an outgoing, emotionally generous young man for whom it is natural to kiss, hug and stroke, as he strokes Reilly’s cheeks … There are times when McGregor’s diction is fine and they are often the right ones … He’s vigorous, hard, mean and he does hate, really hate. Hate enough to give us Shakespeare’s play as it poignantly, painfully should be.”
Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph - “Admittedly, I've never quite been able to understand all the fuss about McGregor. He had an edge about him in such early pictures as Trainspotting and Shallow Grave but since then a terrible blandness has been born … I therefore approached his Iago with pretty low expectations, only to find that I had nevertheless pitched them too high. In a rare botched shot from director Michael Grandage, McGregor is by far the weakest link in a disappointing production … Kelly Reilly, an actress I have greatly admired, is an almost equally disastrous Desdemona. This is a character who ought to be played as a sweet, warm-hearted innocent. Reilly however … seems downright tarty as she shows off her heaving décolletage and flirts outrageously with Cassio. Only in the last act does she become briefly poignant. Before that, you can readily understand why Othello comes to believe she is a whore. The one bright spot is Chiwetel Ejiofor's beautifully spoken, massively dignified Othello, though even he short-changes the audience when it comes to depicting the humiliating agonies of sexual jealousy. It's a glum evening, and I shouldn't fret if you have failed to secure tickets.”
Michael Billington in the Guardian (four stars) - “Ejiofor also puts himself into the front rank of modern Othellos. Agate said the three essential qualities for any Othello were nobility, temperament and the capacity to be pole-axed; and Ejiofor has them all … Ejiofor's youth is at odds with the text's insistence on Othello's seniority. Otherwise this is a performance that, in its descent from majestic dignity to deluded rage, suggests a great and noble building being destroyed by the wrecker's ball. The ball in question, of course, is Iago, of whom Ewan McGregor gives a decent, robust, if insufficiently complex, account. McGregor's great asset, paradoxically, is charm. But I never felt the actor gave us privileged access to what Hazlitt called the man's ‘diseased intellectual activity’. In place of Auden's practical joker or the impotent obsessive imagined by many actors, we get simply an enigmatic destroyer … But the real virtue of Grandage's production lies less in devastating insights than in its ability to reveal the play's tragic lineaments: as the spotlight fades on the intertwined bodies of Othello and Desdemona, you feel that something of great potential beauty has been destroyed by the world's ugliness.”
Nicholas de Jongh in the Evening Standard (four stars) - “Chiwetel Ejiofor … offers a riveting, psychological diagnosis of Othello as a black African outsider in a white world, whose sexual and social insecurities make him masochistically susceptible to the sadistic manipulations of Ewan McGregor's Mr Monochrome - an Iago with a personality by-pass, but dangerous nonetheless … Ejiofor's bearded, African-sounding, very Christian Moor, whose charismatic eyes dominate the stage, never basks in the military self-importance of conventional Othellos … McGregor's Iago performs a curiously insipid role in this S&M dance of death. With the air of an aloof butler planning steps to his master's downfall, he neither convinces as brilliant deceiver nor as a depraved manipulator … Grandage fields an uncharacteristically bland, under-developed production, which designer Christopher Oram locates first in a Venice notable for church bells, a black/gold backcloth and a watery gutter, then in a murky Cyprus of cicadas and thunder, set against a crumbling wall. Light shines through a single, grille door. There is no acute atmospheric definition, no strong sense of the difference between Venice and Cyprus … It is Ejiofor who makes this such an illuminating and revelatory Othello.”
After the excitement of Ian McKellen’s Royal Shakespeare Company King Lear comes this holiday season’s other hottest theatre ticket – incredibly, another Shakespeare tragedy opening less than a week later. Of course, while the intimate atmosphere of the Donmar provides an exciting canvas for actors, the size of the auditorium (just 250 seats) does mean demand for tickets to hits like this here can reach astronomical proportions - apparently Othello tickets are going for up to Ł2,000 on ebay.
But let’s focus on the work rather than the ticket economics. And canvas there is the right word as director Michael Grandage and designer Christopher Oram have created something that looks like it could have been painted by Rembrandt. Much of the action takes place in a semi-shade in a world where black, brown and grey dominate – highly appropriate for a play where much of the action takes place at night.
As the manipulator of much of the action, much of the attention naturally focuses on Iago, particularly as being played here by Ewan McGregor, in his Shakespearean debut. Most modern productions tend to tackle Iago in one of three ways: as a blunt-speaking NCO, a thwarted homosexual or a Machiavellian joker who disguises his scheming through jokes.
McGregor is none of these. He’s a plain-speaking Iago. And while he’s well able to mask the character’s machinations, what we don’t get is any justification for his actions. Is he motivated by jealousy at being passed over? Or thwarted homosexual attraction? McGregor’s rather flat delivery leaves his Iago totally inscrutable.
Not so Kelly Reilly’s captivating Desdemona. Here’s a picture of a young woman totally in love with her man and genuinely bemused as he turns against her. She’s no wide-eyed innocent, but rather a woman totally at ease with her sexuality, flirting openly with Tom Hiddleston’s impressive Cassio – and thereby making Iago’s accusations all too believable. There’s a strong performance too from Michelle Fairley as Emilia, the only character who seems to recognise that there’s some plot afoot even if she can’t place her finger on what it is.
However, all the actors are upstaged by the superb Chiwetel Ejiofor as Othello. You utterly believe that this is a man who, to begin with, truly is “not easily jealous”, incapable of entertaining thoughts of his wife’s infidelity. Ejiofor eschews the trend to portray Othello as some latent psychopath. His verse-speaking is first-rate, his dignified, softly-spoken Moor always compelling.
This is an excellent production of Othello. It’s a hot ticket all right, and maybe unconscionably dear, but it will be worth it if you can get one.
STUNNING! STUNNING! STUNNING to paraphrase Cassio's "Reputation, reputation, reputation!" - Act II scene III. This superb production will certainly do that for the uniformly excellent cast. It is, however, Chitwetel Ejiofor's magnificent Othello that stands out. I do not think I will see a better performance in my life time. It is up there with the greats. I count myself fortunate in having been able to see it. Brilliantly directed by Michael Grandage with atmospheric designs by Christopher Oram enhanced by Paule Constable's lighting and Adam Cork's music made this a true night to remember! I hope it gets a transfer so that many more than the tiny Donmar can hold get a chance to see this truly amazing production. - rds
09 Feb 08
If people would just stop obsessing about 'the stars', they would find a production whose staging has great energy, a tremendous atmosphere created by design lighting and sound and a terrific ensemble in which everyone shines. This is premiere league Shakespeare. This has proved to be a great winter for Shakespeare in London. - Gareth James
29 Jan 08
During last year's mediocre Othello at the Globe I consoled myself with the thought that Michael Grandage's prouction would be much better and, with one glaring exception, it is. This is a superbly passionate version with all the relationships clearly delineated. Kelly Reilly is an unusually flirtatious Desdemona but ths makes sense of Othello's readiness to believe in her infidelity. Tom Hiddleston is an attractive Cassio and Michelle Fairley is exceptional as Emilia, particularly in the closing scenes. Even better is Chiwetel Ejiofor as Othello, clearly aware of his outsider status but charismatic. You can see his mind being poisoned culminating in utter tragedy and self-destruction. That glaring exception though is Ewan McGregor. At first I thought he would give us an Iago brimming with hatred and resentment but he quickly subsides into utter blandness - by the closing scene he had almost disappeared and I couldn't care less what happened to Iago. If I had paid a ridiculous price just to see McGregor I would have felt seriously cheated but actually, despite such a weak Iago, this is an excellent Othello. - David Baxter
10 Jan 08
The greatest Shakespeare production of my life! I have never been so excited, so moved, or so impressed by any Shakespeare play before. Here we have it, unadorned, direct, pacey, no spurious gimmicks or updates, with a title performance which is nothing less than great. By the end I was choked up, wrung out and almost speechless by this masterclass in theatrical purity.
I guess this late arrival will be too late to garner WOS award nominations, too late in the year and in too small a theatre to pick up many votes, which just shows up the nonsense of relying on the popular vote in any Best Of rating. I just hope the Donmar will find seats for the Olivier panel before the end of the year. No production could be more award worthy. - Mikey
Re-opened in 1992. Seats 254. 1999 - Ambassador Theatre Group takes over from the Associated Capital Theatres as the landlord of the Donmar Warehouse. 2002 - Michael Grandage succeeds Sam Mendes as Artistic Director of the Donmar. Nick Frankfort succeeds Caro Newling as Executive Producer.
Whatsonstage.com - Discount London theatre tickets, theatre news and reviews, Theatre videos, Theatre discussion, National Theatre Listings. Covering London's West End, all of Theatreland and all UK theatre. The best
for London Theatre Ticket Discounts.
