Othello

Article by: Review by Anna Lumb, English teacher

There aren’t many new productions of a Shakespeare play that generate so much media hype – newspapers, television and Radio 4 ratcheted up the tension – would Lenny Henry be any good? Or in my case, would my class of world-weary year 10s stay awake?

Northern Broadside’s distinctive ‘take’ on Shakespeare is that the actors use their native accents, mainly northern ones, but Iago was very subtly Scouse. Barrie Rutter, the company’s founder, wrings every ounce of meaning from the language. And somehow the words don’t seem quite so old. No one typified this more than Conrad Nelson who played Iago. He was brilliant – drawing the audience in, sharing his villainous ideas, leaving us uncomfortably complicit in what we were watching.

But the rest of the cast were equally as accomplished. Northern Broadsides’ tradition of music, instruments played by the cast, was also well used in the scene where Cassio gets drunk, a really comic moment lightening the darkness to come later in the play. There was not a weak link in the supporting cast.

But what about Lenny Henry? Was he any good? Well, in the main, yes. He portrayed a noble figure but was less convincing when roused and in Act 3 scene 3 his voice seemed to strain as he attempted to convey his fury. But by the end of Act 5 he made a pitiful figure, broken by his realisation of what he had done. It was very human and very moving.

The clear uncluttered, unfussy production was a perfect introduction to Shakespeare for my students. And as one of them said, “I understand it so much more now.” Can there be a better recommendation than that?