A furious quest for revenge. An outsider’s thirst to prove himself. The desperate plight of a wrongly accused wife. Few people are unfamiliar with the dark, intriguing tale of Shakespeare’s Othello.
But it seems that no one is more familiar with the tale of the Moorish captain than the fun loving cast of actors rehearsing for the production which will take place from July 30 to August 1. Reading and re-reading the text, engaging in discussion, and reading a few crazy dissertations along the way, the cast agrees that Othello has been a long, yet fun, enlightening experience.
While the drama- with its themes of subterfuge, betrayal, jealousy and racism- is hailed as being as relevant in the contemporary scenario as in 1603 when it was published, the upcoming production of Othello does not stop at presenting relevant themes within a well known story, but also works towards giving the audience new insights into characters of whom fixed perceptions have already been formed.
Thanuja Jayawardene who will play the role of Desdemona, elaborates. “- We are all accustomed to thinking of Desdemona’s character as one that is submissive and weak, and I had the same misgivings when I started working on the role. But now I find that hers is a complex, highly nuanced character. I now see her as being strong, even assertive character at times. Her act of flouting her father’s wishes by marrying Othello and even defending her decision, is a clear indication of this. The interesting progression of her character helps me in understanding her better. Her real character is not obvious at first and portraying her character requires subtlety.”
Arjuna Wignaraja (Othello) agrees. “The portrayal of Othello can be tough,” he reflects, “because everyone has that stereotypical perception of who the moor is. It is as you take the trouble to be acquainted with him that you realize the extent of his vulnerability as a character. Iago appears to be all too aware of this and he uses this vulnerability to his advantage.”
This level of understanding and insight is exactly what the cast wishes to provide the audience with. “One of our main objectives,” explains director Thushara Hettihamu, “ was to make the play a little more accessible- put Shakespeare on a level where people would be able to understand him better. We see Othello as a telling example of humanity at play- it is one of the most human plays possible. We have had to do a lot of editing to the script- eliminating the scenes which we felt were slightly redundant and would make the audience restless. The result is a slicker play which still adheres closely to the original and has not lost any of its charm in the editing.”
Mohammed Adamaly, playing the role of Iago, adds to this. “For me, one of the most striking aspects of Othello is the personalities of the drama and how realistic they are. And Iago’s character is fascinating- in particular his ability to deal differently with different people and win their unwavering trust in him. To some he is a loyal soldier; to others he is a solver of problems; and to yet others he is a dear friend and colleague.
And the challenge here is to bring out the sense of these different personalities and relationships. It is a subtle character to play- easier to play on screen than on stage. I am also fascinated by the way in which Iago operates- he is an opportunist and not a planner. As the plot progresses, we see that he manipulates situations to his benefit.”
It is interesting to see how well the cast has gelled together. United- among other things- by a healthy love for chocolate and overall goofing around, work at rehearsals is punctuated by frequent bursts of laughter.
“We had planned a production of this nature for a long time and the 175th anniversary celebrations seemed like a good time to do it. And things are really looking good where the play is concerned,” says Thushara.
Crocodile is the main sponsor of the show, and Media sponsors include The Sunday Times, The Daily Mirror, TNL Radio and TNL Lite and Atom Media, and costumes by Sonali De Silva of Haddai.
Tickets for the performance which will start at 7 p.m, are priced at Rs. 1500, 1000, 750, 500 and 300 and are available at the Lionel Wendt. The box plan is also available on http://www.moorofvenice.com |
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