THE Mount Isa Theatrical Society took on Shakespeare’s Othello for their latest stage production.
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The Theatrical Society did, however, put an unusual twist on the classic by putting the Shakespearean prose into an Australian bikie gang context.
Director Jenelle Robartson’s context change worked well for majority of the play, but did became confusing when the subject of war came up.
Characters in the play talked about the Turks and the Venetians – what the audience were expected to understand as rival gangs – but also spoke about ships coming into the city and waves upon the shore.
While this was true to the original Shakespearean text, it would perhaps have been appropriate to take artistic license and chance ‘ships’ to ‘bikes’ and ‘shore’ to ‘street’ for the sake of the context.
The commitment to Shakespearean language and the original text was incredibly clear in the delivery of lines.
Every actor nailed every line in the performance, leaving no room for mistakes or extended silences.
Costume designers used clever patches on the back the main player’s leather jackets for the audience to easily identify them.
Iago had ‘Argo’ stitched across his back, while Rodrigo had ‘Reego’, which was particularly helpful to the audience during fight scenes.
Desdemona and Emilia had particularly excellent chemistry in this adaption of Othello, with the friendship and loyalty between each character driving the tension in the fifth and final act of the play.
This production of Othello is a great way for anyone who is unfamiliar with Shakespeare to experience his work without diving into period costumes and maidens in towers.
The context change from armies on ships to gangs in the streets was inspired, slightly risky, and paid off in the end.
After all, nothing says ‘rivalry’ like Australian bikie gangs with bad tattoos and one too many tinnies in their gang house.
Othello runs at the Mount Isa Theatrical Society Theatre until this Sunday, June 12.