I’m not a Shakespeare person, a theater person, or a person knowledgeable about the UK in any way, so you can assume I don’t know most of the words I’m using when I say the 2007-08 run of OTHELLO at the Donmar Warehouse is mind-bogglingly good.
I wasn’t actually there for any of it, but I have it in audio courtesy of my library system, and it is gripping. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Othello, Ewan MacGregor as Iago, Kelly Reilly as Desdemona, Tom Hiddleston as Cassio, Michelle Fairley as Emilia. It feels a bit like it was made for audio—the principals’ voices and delivery are so distinct, you don’t need to see the action to understand it. It probably helps that the plot is pretty simple and there aren’t many principals; it’s the actors’ emotions that (I imagine) make or break this play, and emotions are something a cast like this can deliver. There’s a lot of shouting, but it’s that kind of play.
And it’s a play written for today. I mean, maybe every Shakespeare play was written for today, because that’s what makes Shakespeare Shakespeare; but there’s something quite specific about OTHELLO, watching a man eaten from inside by brain worms planted by an enemy masked as an ally. Iago can explain why Othello feels this way. Iago alone can fix it. Iago didn’t do anything—he’s just the kind of guy who says exactly what he thinks. Iago regrets the collateral damage, but if you want to make an omelet…
Anyway. My point with the disclaimer at the top is just to say, I’m not coming at this as some kind of connoisseur, I genuinely think that just about any adult with some appreciation for language and story could listen to this and be gobsmacked.
Side note: Shakespeare plays are way shorter than audio novels! Which makes sense, if you think about it; this one clocks in at about 2:35. You could probably do the Complete Plays in less time than it would take to listen to A Song of Ice and Fire once. Which may or may not be something I’m low key planning to do… ?
Currently reading: STOLEN FOCUS, by Johann Hari.