Review: Othello at Hackney Empire

This is not through want of trying or lack of imagination – Hunter's decision to set the show in the '50s is smart and useful, her manipulation of the stage classy and effective, and this eclectic company make these infamous roles their own.

But whilst the variety and ease of this production works to its advantage early on, the play's focus gets a little lost and the audience a little too comfortable, as we surge towards Desdemona’s death.

This is partly explained by the indisposition of Michael Gould in the role of Iago: though understudy Alex Hassell performs with a striking strength and gleeful malice, his forgivable stumbles rob the role of complete authority.

Still, a production should not rise or fall on one performance alone – there is something more fundamental at fault here.

For all its theatrical inventiveness, this production is so finely observed and so rich in detail, that the bigger picture has been blurred. It is a bit too complicated for its own good.

Patrice Naiambana as Othello is a true musician with Shakespeare's words - but while his monologues are sonorous symphonies in the first half, they grow harder to listen to later on.

Naiambana’s performance is indicative of the production as a whole: his respect and feel for Shakespeare’s language is so profound, that he has forgotten to convey the simple emotions rumbling underneath those complex words.

3/5