Moor is more

Saw Chicago Shakespeare's Othello a few nights ago. I should have waited to go for the Maroon so I wouldn't have to shell out 70 bucks for a little Bard, but whatever. It was an admirable rendition, quite conservative, with the costumes given a Victorian update but otherwise little tampering with the language or scene cutting. Othello was unquestionably the center of the show, striding hugely across the stage and setting every scene aflame. I wish I had the program so I can properly praise the actor, but he was wonderful. So was the actress who played Desdemona and the actress who gave an incredibly compelling turn as Emilia, Iago's wife.

But then there was Iago. With the most lines, Iago displays his astounding verbal dexterity and, moreover, drives the plot. In many productions he, and not Othello, is the focal point. Yet in this Othello his presence was slight, and his soliloquies dragged. Iago was a bit of a showboat, a swaggerer, charming in a distasteful sort of way; but I could never believe his evil. When he said, a number of times, "I hate the moor," it was in the petulant tones of a spoiled child, not the demonic voice of an unfathomable hatred. Indeed, Iago's motivations are unfathomable. Given the abundance of religious imagery in the text, including endless descriptions of the infernal zone, it is clear that Iago is a devil, a man who approaches evil as others would "sport." Sport is another word that Iago frequently utters, and it conveys something of the pleasure he takes in simply wreaking havoc, regardless of his objective. Jealousy just doesn't explain his actions. And I didn't get this from the production.

On the other side, Emilia's defiance was vividly brought to the fore, and indeed Emilia was one of the most interesting characters. This Othello turned Emilia into a proto-feminist, as one could argue she is in the text. Very good.