Shakespeare Productions

English Touring Theatre’s stylish reimagining of Shakespeare’s tragedy unlocks the play for a contemporary audience, presenting an Othello forced to conceal his Muslim faith in order to survive and thrive in Venetian society. The claustrophobic staging enhances a feeling of surveillance and paranoia as the innocent joy of Othello and Desdemona’s early relationship is replaced and juxtaposed by the violence which ensues - a violence all too familiar to a modern audience.

One of his most heartbreaking tragedies, Shakespeare’s tale of love, jealousy and deceit is brought to life in this ground-breaking production from the Royal Shakespeare Company. Captured live in Stratford-upon-Avon, Iqbal Khan’s adaptation was the first at the RSC to cast a Black actor, Lucian Msamati, in the role of Iago.

With its racing concentrated plot and intense dramatic details, Othello is one of Shakespeare's most exciting, atmospheric and heartbreaking plays. By introducing to early 17th-century England a black character as complex as Othello, it is also one of his most extraordinary imaginative achievements. Stage director: Wilson Milam. Screen director: Derek Bailey. Featuring: Eamonn Walker, Nick Barber, Tim McInnerny, Sam Crane, Johnathan Newth, Nigel Hastings, Dickon Tyrrell, Micael O'Hagan, Paul Lloyd, Zoe Tapper, Lorraine Burroughs, Zawe Ashton, Micael Taibi, Che Walker, Anthony Bailey, Gabby Wong, Fanos Xenofos, John Stahl.