The acting rescues it: National Theatre’s Othello reviewed

Crude eccentricities damage the potential brilliance of Othello at the National. Some of the visual gestures seem to have been approved by crazies from the neo-fascist fringe. The Moor is first seen doing a work-out with a punch bag but he doesn’t strike the bag, he grabs a broom handle and uses it to perform some fancy martial arts moves.

The action starts and Othello is accused of spiriting Desdemona away from her father’s house and seducing her by trickery or witchcraft. During these scenes he’s stalked by a mob of extremists who dangle nooses and threaten him with daggers. That’s just silly. Othello is the foremost warrior in Venice. Anyone who drew a knife on him would be dead within seconds. The far-right mob are clad in black and their status as fascists is emphasised by Iago (Paul Hilton) who resembles an Oswald Mosley clone. He even has a line of ants crawling across his upper lip. To amplify the Nazi theme, the action takes place on a tier of concrete steps like the Nuremberg stadium. And Iago’s soliloquys are styled as if they were orations by Hitler. An equally facile analogy. Iago’s monologues should be private confessions but he’s surrounded by a fan club of mime artistes in dark tights and T-shirts who gawp and stare and make demented gestures. What does it all mean? Anyone’s guess.

Director Clint Dyer has been tempted to overuse the National’s dazzling array of tricks and effects. Funky visuals light up the rear wall. Illuminated door frames drop from on high. A hectic soundtrack honks and parps throughout. Some of Shakespeare’s lines are obscured by improvised words hurled at Othello by the fascist lynch mob. Since when did the Bard need a co-writer? There’s a sense that Dyer doesn’t quite trust the playwright to do his job.