Othello - South Hill Park

Othello – South Hill Park

This was a beautiful version of Shakespeare’s Othello, with a live string quartet featuring live music from composer Ron McAllister. 

It took me a little while to engage with the show and I felt that the first half was particularly slow and long.
But the pace of the show that features themes such as ambition, jealousy and love, definitely picked up in the second half. 

Vinta Morgan who played Othello, was the star of the show. His strong voice was well suited to the character of Othello who begins to doubts his devout wife, after being poisoned by Iago - Othello's ensign and a villain. 

The use of music should be praised, especially in the first half when characters are on board of a ship, and there is a storm. 

The scene I most enjoyed, and was most engaged in, was the final one. Audiences see Othello strangle his wife, Desdemona, as she lays peacefully in her bed. We hear and see his love for her, but see that tales of her betrayal by Iago, have got the better of him. 

Overall Othello was a dramatic and spectacular show presented by Icarus Theatre Collective, Original Theatre Company and South Hill Park Arts Centre.