• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Read me
  • Subscribe

Othello (Chamber Shakespeare Cycle Part III)

2008

The Chamber Cycle is ambitious to say the least — four consecutive plays for twenty-five almost-consecutive days — and this Herculean project is a must-see for any serious fan of Shakespeare and/or tragedy. The central idea is to eliminate any part of the script which does not directly involve the main character.
Their approach tends to minimalism, but not excessively so. Their stage and props are pieces of coloured cloth, their costumes smooth and black. The room has the tranquil discipline of dojo, the lighting is low and intimate, colours are carefully employed, and the overall effect is both beautiful and haunting.
This crew is an example to young actors everywhere, the production is overflowing with believable physicality and heartfelt misery as each tragedy rolls on. The same actor somewhat incredibly plays each protagonist and if you watch all four parts, as you may well be tempted to do, the unity of the plays becomes clear and thus their vision is a remarkable success in its execution.
Othello is smooth and moody and charts the Moor’s road to rage in a highly focused and uniformly linear manner, it’s a strong reminder of the classical unities. Iago’s motives are deeply obfuscated by the adaptation, and so the audience’s confusion parallels Othello’s. This may or may not improve the experience, depending on how much you like to get involved with the action.

5/5 star5.jpg

Bernie Greenwood




Hairline extra features

2010 readers voted for

  • Lashings of Ginger Beer Time - 8 votes
  • The Roaring Boys Will Set You Free - 6 votes
  • Plague! The Musical - 5 votes
  • Grimm Tales of the Unexpected - 4 votes
  • Mark Allen’s Go Slow - 4 votes




Hairline Archives

  • 2001
  • 2002
  • 2003
  • 2004
  • 2005
  • 2006
  • 2007
  • 2008
  • 2009

2009 goodies

  • Blog 2009
  • Photoblog 2009
  • Interviews 2009
  • Stalkers 2009
  • Quotes 2009

2008 goodies

  • Blog 2008
  • Photoblog 2008
  • Interviews 2008
  • Stalkers 2008
  • Quotes 2008
©2001-2010 hairline.org.uk
Powered by WordPress | Talian theme by VA4Business
Blog designed and maintained by eLearniacs