Othello, Shakespeare's savage tragedy about the breakdown of a mixed-race marriage, is notorious for its violence, racism and the blackest of all villains, Iago. Desdemona defies convention to marry Othello, a successful general, much older than her, and a Moor. This scandal is hushed up by allowing Desdemona to accompany her new husband into war; but Othello has passed over his trusted advisor Iago for promotion, instead going for the conventional choice, a young Venetian nobleman named Cassio, and as the threat from the enemy fades, it is replaced by the darker danger of Iago's twisted revenge. Cheek by Jowl jolt through the politics in rapid-fire, stylised fragments performed by scattered actors shouting lines across a vast black stage, before heading south for tragic inevitability interspersed with it-ain't-half-hot-mum army scenes and rude bits to keep the audience interested. Iago (Jonny Phillips), mustachioed and as touchy-feely as an evil P.E. teacher, drags out his lines in a sinister drone; Nonso Anozie is a harried and frantic Othello, sweating out speeches in abbreviated gestures and bewildered stares. Matthew Douglas as Roderigo is a fine gull for Iago's villainy, transparently pathetic and pitiable, while Cassio (Ryan Kiggell) maintains his handsome charm through some awkward scenes. But, despite bland costuming (men in army kit or black tie, women in their own clothes), harsh staging (defying the stylisation elsewhere, Desdemona's murder is brutally realistic) and a firm focus on the men's relationships, the best of the play lies with the women. In turns loving, careless, abused and victimised, Jaye Griffiths (Emilia) and Caroline Martin, a saucy, independent Desdemona, assert themselves as very different army wives, united in their vulnerability; and in Emilia's final "I am bound to speak" speeches the play truly finds its voice, passionately crying for all the silent victims of jealousy and abuse.

Jeremy Dennis, 23.03.04