Perseverance Theatre's production of "Othello" features fine acting, action-oriented staging, a solid, somber and wonderfully effective set and a very welcomed straightforward and period-appropriate approach to Shakespeare's story with only minor cuts.
In the title role, Jamil A.C. Mangan made a towering and powerful impression, retaining the tone of a vulnerable but terrifying tragic hero, initially cheerful and confident but ultimately consumed by suspicion and rage. Kat Wodtke's Desdemona had good presence but was not especially nuanced. Her portrayal of the elated bride at the beginning was not notably different from her later condition as a woman realizing that the terra firma of her husband's affection is crumbling beneath her feet.
Any "Othello" stands or falls on the strength of the antagonist, Iago. The part can be interpreted any number of different ways, from sophisticated opportunist to a normal fellow who feels sorely wronged to the devil incarnate. Brandon Demery made the villain more brutish than subtle, a petty Mafioso rather than suave Machiavelli. I found his best scenes to be the several monologues delivered directly to the audience as if we were co-conspirators, sometimes eliciting nervous laughs.
As Emilia -- the only character with accurate information who acts on it -- Danielle Rabinovitch was animated and flexible. She put serious backbone into the secondary role. Levi Rion Ben-Israel's Cassio came off as stiff, though there were moments -- the lament for his lost reputation for instance -- that drew empathy.
Movement from scene to scene went swiftly and seamlessly; this production could almost be done without intermission. Credit for the smooth transitions goes to director Tom Robenolt and scenic designer Akiko Nishijima Rotch.
The single set of bleak walls broken by numerous walls worked for every locale in the play. Raquel Davis' lighting supplied key strokes of atmosphere and gave focus to the action on a mostly dark stage. The stage fights, choreographed by Frank Delaney, were exciting and credible.
The production suffered, however, from the words recited in a loud, rushed manner that -- in conjunction with the echo of Sydney Laurence Theatre -- made them hard to understand in many places. Four-century-old prose aside, there are few places in "Othello" that a contemporary audience with enough education to work a crossword puzzle can't understand if enunciation is clear. Slowing the speeches might make the play four hours long, but that would be preferable to a version a half-hour shorter where Shakespeare's syllables flirt with incoherence.
Perhaps as a result, the show often seemed static, as if the characters were giving their speeches to themselves rather than communicating with other characters.
However, as the Bard said elsewhere, the play is the thing, and "Othello" is outstanding writing, even by Shakespeare's standards. Knowing how it ends, as I presume most readers do, it is impossible to watch it without a deep sense of discomfort. What contemporary drama deals with race, war, politics, deceit, jealousy, domestic violence and much else simultaneously? But it's also impossible to see the story and not be moved on many levels. This tragedy is a high-water mark in the sea of human creativity and the current production is well worth seeing. But if you haven't read the brilliant script in a while, you may want to review it before you go for the details of the dialog.
OTHELLO will be presented at 7:30 p.m.Tuesday-Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 1 in Sydney Laurence Theatre. Tickets are available at centertix.net.