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 The TheatreguideLondon Review

Othello
Trafalgar Studios Autumn 2009

The major selling point of this production, seen at the West Yorkshire Playhouse earlier this year, is the appearance of veteran stand-up comic Lenny Henry in the title role. And Henry does give a very fine performance - not 'fine for a stand-up comic', but more than respectable by any standard.

It's a clean, intelligent and passionate portrayal of the Moor, and one that even illuminates the character in fresh ways. I had never before realised that in the key scene between them Iago doesn't lure Othello into jealousy, but maliciously guides him to reject passive jealousy and commit himself to active vengeance - just one of the nice new and wholly convincing readings Henry brings to the role.

Henry has lowered the timbre of his natural voice for the role, and in the opening scenes his elongated vowels and rolling consonants make him sound a bit too much like recordings of Paul Robeson's Othello. But he quickly moves past that to a more natural enunciation, in keeping with director Barrie Rutter and the Northern Broadsides company's commitment to allowing actors to use their natural accents, rather than RSC English.

Henry is at his best in the scenes of anger and high passion, weakest when trying to show Othello's softer or more vulnerable sides (The epileptic fit, for example, doesn't work). In all, as good an Othello as you are likely to encounter from more experienced Shakespearean actors, and better than most.

Conrad Nelson, looking and sounding every inch a veteran NCO, resists the temptation awaiting all Iagos to twirl his metaphorical moustachios in open villainy and offers a more laid-back schemer, happy to plant a seed and then wait to watch it grow.

It is a generous performance, choosing not to steal scenes as more flamboyant Iagos can, but one that rings true moment after moment, as when he feigns being perplexed by his suspicions about Cassio, forcing Othello to supply the answers and thus convince himself.

Jessica Harris looks too mature and sounds too young as Desdemona, a bit too American teenager to be taken seriously, and Richard Standing is as invisible as most Cassios are. The pleasures of this production lie almost entirely in the two central roles, and they are substantial and satisfying.

Gerald Berkowitz

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Review - Othello - Trafalgar 2009