| OTHELLO IN LONDON; OTHELLO IN GLENCOE
by Jason Loewith on 7/31/2007 04:11:00 PM
I'm back from a long-awaited vacation to Europe, where for two weeks I mostly avoided theater at all costs! But on my way back, I decided one really shouldn't leave London without having seen at least one piece of drama.
So I trundled across the Thames and waited for returns at the Globe, the architecturally-faithful recreation of the stage where most of Shakespeare's plays had their world premieres. And I got in to that afternoon's production, OTHELLO, directed by Wilson Milam, and starring Tim McInnerny as Iago and Eamonn Walker as the Moor.
The next morning I flew back to Chicago, and found myself almost 24 hours later in Glencoe, watching OTHELLO at Writers' Theatre, directed by Michael Halberstam, and starring John Judd as Iago and James Meredith as the Moor.
Comparing the two - as I was asked to do frequently - was absolutely fascinating, and said something different about London audiences vs Chicago audiences, British actors vs American actors, and British Shakespeare vs American Shakespeare. But what was most telling about the experience was what it taught me about fitting the play to the stage.
Off the bat I'll say that both productions were thoroughly engaging, very well-acted, relatively free of directorial "concepting" (this moreso true of the Globe production), and quite powerful. But they were nonetheless extremely different. And most of those differences could be ascribed
to the different theaters in which they took place.
Michael's production at Writers was designed for his intimate space: a cut-down cast and cut-back script, great simplicity of presentation (in terms of design, props, and the like), and a slow and considered delivery of the lines. Played straight as a domestic tragedy, this production held a gravitas and quiet intensity that fit exactly the Writers mission, audience, and physical environment.
By contrast, the Globe production was designed to keep the attention of 1000 groundlings standing in the hot sun through an afternoon. Every opportunity for humor was exploited, the full cast and live musicians entered and exited all over the space, and the dialogue was played about three times the speed (perhaps in part because the British presumably "hear" Shakespeare with greater facility than American audiences, but at least in part because an outdoor space like the Globe is not one conducive to quiet consideration of poetry). I've never seen an Othello that celebrated the sheer physicality of its performers like this one.
So which approach paid off better? Comparing the first "acts" (i.e., acts I, II and II), the Globe's production ultimately held the attention here better, because the first three acts of Othello benefit from a large cast and large space in which they may perform. The night scene before Brabantio's house, the convening of the Venetian council, the arrival in Cyprus... these are the kinds of scenes where a large blank canvas like the Globe is a perfect setting. The Othello-Roderigo subplot is a classic example of hilarious comedy dropped in the middle of a tragedy, and played better within the physical and emotional environment of the Globe production. At Writers', the Othello-Roderigo scenes felt out of place, almost - Iago could easily have accomplished what he wanted without the distraction.
But in the second "act", when the action truly becomes the domestic tragedy Michael envisioned, you see how Writers' production pays off. Whereas, at the Globe we are suddenly drawn into a quiet contemplation that doesn't quite fit what's come before, at Writers', the shift in the action makes utter sense... could OTHELLO be performed in any other way? It suddenly seems we're watching the Moor's madness for the first time. (Michael's interesting decision to break up the scene in which Iago truly infects Othello with thoughts of Desdemona's infidelity was a part of that power.)
All in all, I feel lucky to have seen and experienced both productions, and so soon one after the other. But mostly, I feel like I learned a very important lesson about making sure you fit your production to your space.Labels: Chicago theatre
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