Othello

Ian McKellen's staggering portrayal of the villainous Iago is the crowning jewel of this 1989 Royal Shakespeare Company production of the Bard's classic tragedy of jealousy and death. Alternately oozing false sympathy and darkest malice, and striding about the spare settings with a magnificently evil confidence, while delivering many of the play's most famous lines with relish, McKellen fashions a portrait of manipulative malevolence so compelling that he threatens to swamp everyone in his vicinity. Still, Willard White, an operatic bass with a deep, resonant voice, strikes a noble figure as the tormented titular Moor, even if his performance seems more studied than natural, and Imogen Stubbs is a youthful, sweetly innocent Desdemona; they play the famous murder scene with great passion and considerable dramatic effect. The supporting cast is merely adequate, with Sean Baker's Cassio and Michael Grandage's Roderigo on the light side, but Zo( Wanamaker's Emilia makes a strong impression, especially in the final scene. Trevor Nunn's direction is notable for its sensitivity to the rhythms of the performances, moving things along at breakneck speed when McKellen controls the action but slowing substantially in White's scenes, and the play as a whole has been skillfully re-imagined in cinematic terms. Given the dominance of its Iago, this is a somewhat unbalanced version of Othello (and, in terms of costumes, a modernized one as well), but it's also a compelling and memorable one. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek)