So last night I went to a production of Othello. It was a different production of Othello than is “traditionally” performed for a couple of reasons.
1-The
setting was post-apocalyptic “Mad Max” war zone.
2-The cast
was ALL female
3-Othello
wasn’t black
A lot of people
I know go, “Well, if Othello isn’t black is it really Othello?” and I just look at them and go “Da hell man?”
Unlike other shows like Clybourne
Park, Hairspray, or A Raisin In The
Sun race is not the central plot point in Othello. While many may argue that it is extremely important
because without Othello’s race Iago has no motivation for destroying Othello,
they are missing that the primary focus of Iago’s hatred is that he believes
Othello to have slept with his wife, in addition to Iago’s jealousy at Othello’s
rise in rank above him. That has NOTHING to do with race. It doesn’t matter
what race, creed, ethnicity, religion, or gender Othello is, Iago will hate him
for getting promoted to General over him and for, supposedly, sleeping with his
wife.
So what happens when we take
away race? What happens when Othello is not only female, but is Caucasian? The
entire play shifts and the characters who once stood at the center of the play
are moved to the side to make way for the characters who have more to lose than
anyone else—Desdemona and Amelia.
First I need to say how much I appreciated
Hailey Nebeker’s portrayal of
Desdemona. For the first time ever I actually saw Desdemona as a strong female.
Rather than the pure, wilting flower who gives in to the whims of men because
she is unable to stand on her own, Nebeker’s Desdemona was a total badass. She
was strong, but also kind. There was more than one time that I could feel the “F***
you” subtext as she spoke to various men. But she still advocated for kindness
and compassion towards those she loves. She wasn’t going to take shit without a
fight, but she wasn’t going to start a fight for no reason. It was incredibly
empowering to watch and made me want her to fight harder and made me hate
Othello and Iago more than ever. Now Desdemona was incredible, but even she
wasn’t the character that haunted me and made me cry out for justice.
In watching this play in this concept/format, suddenly Amelia was the
only character I cared about. I have read the play many times. I have seen
scenes performed dozens of times and ways. But not ONCE did I ever understand
the pain Amelia endures. And it is right there! It is in the text! So why do we
gloss over it so often? Why do we ignore the abuse and violence (physical,
mental, sexual) of a woman who is simply trying to survive? Why don’t we want
to stand up to protect Amelia? Is domestic abuse/violence so common that we
have grown numb and are unable to see it? I ached watching Amelia be torn apart
as she is forced to fight for her own survival and fight for her human sanity
in doing the “right” thing. In other productions, I hated Amelia. I thought “What
the hell is this dumb bitch doing? She’s gonna mess it all up and get everyone
killed.” And I am so mad and ashamed at myself, as a survivor of sexual abuse,
for not going deeper. For not comprehending the depth of her pain. For not
advocating for her and thinking “This poor woman. What a terrible thing that
she can see no other choice but to obey in order to save her own life.” I left
the theatre exhausted and wanting nothing more than to see a change in our world.
To see a world where abuse and violence is so rare that it can sicken someone
at the mere mention of it, let alone seeing it staged. To see a world where we
cry out for justice for women. To see a world where the abused female character
is applauded as just as important as the male character who does the abusing.
To see a different world, a better world.
You can see
Dark Lady Shakespeare Company’s production of Mad Othello at the Salt Lake Fringe Festival.
8/6/16 at
9:30pm
8/7/16 at
12:30pm
2234
Highland Dr.
Salt Lake
City, UT
