Othello
by
William Shakespeare
Directed by Scott Wentworth
Director's
Message
 |
| Paul Mullins as Iago in OTHELLO. Photo © Gerry Goodstein. |
In my research for this production of OTHELLO, I came upon
a quote by the Venetian Senator Lorenzo Soranzo. In calling
for a European invasion of Muslim Constantinople, Sorano writes,
"...if the frontier is not supported by the United forces
of Christendom, the Evil Empire will triumph." He wrote this
in 1603.
I was struck by the phrase we have heard so often on the
lips of our own political leaders, but more I was struck by
how little human nature has changed in four hundred years.
When confronted with the possibility of threat, it seems that
a response of our nature is to create and vilify an "other"-to
make it "us" and "them", to keep "them" out, to shut the door,
to return to the walled city. This idea of "otherness" threads
through OTHELLO, linking and illuminating the many stories
that make up this great play-the tragedy, the dark comedy,
the psychological drama, the love story, the thriller. As
we explored the scenes in rehearsal, we saw time and again,
how, when the characters perceived themselves in danger, they
would close ranks, close their hearts and create a stranger,
an "other", to take the fall and bear the blame. We even coined
a verb to facilitate our process. We talked of "outsidering"
someone.
The "us and them" discourse runs throughout the play: Venetians
and Florentines, Turks and Christians, military and civilians,
young and old, black and white, man and woman. Shakespeare
seems to be saying that this is a natural tendency of the
species, like the "fight or flight" adrenaline rush, and that
a society or an individual formalizes that tendency and then
truly perceives the human experience as "us and them," leaving
themselves open to tragedy. In her book Othello: A Contextual
History, Virginia Mason Vaughn writes, "The central idea
of 'otherness' be it racial, religious or sexual, is that
the self is defined by everything the they is
not."
It is in this observation that OTHELLO and Othello leave
themselves vulnerable. By seeing women as either goddesses
or whores, with nothing in between, Othello puts his Self
in jeopardy when confronted by the reality that is Desdemona.
And when we give up Self we give up responsibility. "Othello's
occupation's gone"-not because of any behavior on his part,
but because of his perception of Desdemona's; his "soul's
joy" has become the "other". Shakespeare offers no answer
to this dilemma. He was a storyteller, after all, not a moralist.
But it is perhaps in that role as storyteller that a possibility
for hope is held out. "’Twill out, 'twill out," Emilia says,
"I'll make thee known...." The movement of the play suggests
that the sharing of information, the connection that act brings,
obliterates "otherness". The telling of stories creates connection;
the act of theatre exercises our empathetic muscle in the
same way that fear triggers the walled city response.
The play begins with the line, "Never tell me..." and journeys
to the final couplet-a call for action, a call for connection,
"Myself will straight aboard; and to the state
This heavy act with heavy heart relate."
- Scott Wentworth
|
