Othello

Othello is one of Shakespeare's most compelling plays, today deemed radical for its treatment of racism. Bell Shakespeare's new production, directed by Peter Evans, has generated media buzz over its casting. The mercurial Ray Chong Nee, of Samoan-Chinese background (and possibly familiar from the ABC's ace Glitch), assumes the titular role. The dramatic staging impresses, too, with brutalist props blanketed in symbolically murky green velvet and striking lighting and sound. The characters wear modern costume.

An exceptional Moorish (North African) General in the Republic of Venice, Othello has secretly married the idealised Desdemona (a docile Elizabeth Nabben), her furious senator father revealing latent racial prejudice when informed. Meanwhile, Othello has promoted young nobleman Cassio (Michael Wahr) to Lieutenant over his resentful ensign Iago (a weaselly yet agile Yalin Ozucelik). 

Othello is about male pride and obsessive jealousy — Iago's as much as Othello's. Discerning that the usually dignified Othello's vulnerability lies in his passion for Desdemona, Iago plots his revenge, going from shady to dark. An opportunist, he plays characters off each other through suggestion and subterfuge. Grand tragedy unfolds as Othello, imagining his wife cavorting with Cassio, unravels violently. 

Truly great, Chong Nee brings nuanced emotion and exquisite enunciation to Othello. Also notable is Joanna Downing, who, as Iago's wife Emilia, emerges as the play's pluckier — and more modern — heroine, deducing his villainy.