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Othello in Mask
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Zack Brenner
Produced by Abigail Trabue
At The Side Project Theatre
1439 W. Jarvis
Chicago, IL
Call 847-293-7705 Tickets $20
Friday and Saturday 8PM,
Sunday 3PM
Running time is 3 hours with intermission
Through December 10th
Inventive, stylized Othello has its moments
Often thought to be Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, Othello stands testament to the power of love, hate, and the killer of all things good... jealousy: that most selfish and foolish of human emotions. Polarity Ensemble Theatre brings an intimate portrayal of this great work to The Side Project Theatre.
Having gone to Japan to do research for their production of Othello in Mask, Polarity Ensemble Theatre attempted to bring age old traditions of Noh, Kabuki and other ritual and international movement forms to their interpretation of Shakespeare’s play of love and loss... Did it work?…Well almost.
I saw a cast of sparkling players, working, at times in great union, sweating the passion of Shakespeare’s rich text literally onto the floor. I did not see the focus necessary to bring home these traditional forms. I loved that convention and, with more time, I think they could have refined the movement and improve the images. Masks work well to bring the audience into an alien world but the ritual seemed lost.
From the opening of the show, the masks were quickly distributed while we, the audience, were told to turn off our cell phones. I think an important moment was lost here. This could have been a powerful opportunity to introduce the audience to the convention and have them see the transformation from actor to character as they donned the mask in ritual fashion. The masks must be treated with respect or else they become a cheap prop and give up the power that they can provide.
I take issue with the costume choice as well, actually the lack of costumes, since the players wore contemporary street clothes. Tradition might warrant the wearing of a neutral costume, all black for example. Wearing a black uniform would draw attention to the masks and to the shapes of the movement. The movement was stylized but lacked refinement and focus. If you are going to bring hint to a well known traditional form, you must engage it so as to appreciate its power. The movement seemed to lack a strong ground as though the players were still unsure of their footing and their surrounding.
All around, the acting was passionate and energized; it was evident that a great deal of time had been spent with the text. In contrast to the massive budgeted interpretations of Shakespeare, with grand sets and costumes I have seen in recent times in downtown Chicago, I was excited to see a production that was determined to focus on the text. I believed a great deal of what they were presenting and heard fluid language displayed by several of the players. The standout was Mason Hill as the plotting Iago, determined to destroy Othello (Cliff London) who had passed him up for advancement in his army.
Overall, I would like to have seen more sensitivity to space, in movement, as described above but especially in voice. In the small space of The Side Project Theatre voices thrown out into the stage with reckless abandon are not believable and sound forced. There were moments when loud voices did less to enhance the anger of the words then to alienate the player from the context. In contrast the most successful scenes saw Iago discussing his plans of deception directly to the audience; with sensitive scenes between Othello and Desdemona (played by a lovely Leah Morrow). Wherever Desdemona was onstage she seemed to calm and focus the ensemble. The scene work between her and her partners worked well. She had a terrific scene with Emilia played with tenderness and passion by producer/PET Ensemble member Abigail Trabue.
I liked this production; I know these actors have the ability to make the play more elegant in form. This production is a strong ensemble piece and certainly worth a visit.
Recommended
Peter Folk (Guest Reviewer)
Date Reviewed: November 11, 2006
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