The Longbow Papers

Actually, it is Othello (Cui Xinyu), Desdemona (Li Jing) and Emilia (Liang Xingyi) in Act V, Scene II, of Shakespeare's "Othello, the Moor of Venice," that the new English Language Drama Program of Beijing Foreign Studies University will take to the stage at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in late May, 2007. Yes, we made the Finals of the 3rd annual Chinese Universities Shakespeare Festival hosted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong! All of those seemingly endless 7-day weeks from late October until mid January paid off.

I have long wanted the opportunity to take Laurence Olivier's definitive 1965 'traditional' modern interpretation of Othello to what I believe is its next emotionally, theatrically logical expression; one that is considered heretical by many. In sum, I wanted to take it to a higher level of both enraged lethality and tenderly romantic ambiguity: the polar extremes between pure love and mind-breaking sexual jealousy. In my almost 35-year history with the play, the ubiquitously perceived, absolutely unequivocal murderous resolve of Othello's "It is the cause" invocation in the bed chamber death scene--the thrice deadly climax of what I believe is Shakespeare's greatest play--has never been narratively or emotionally logical to me.

Othello, though giddy in love for the first time in his 50-some years of soldierly life, is not stupid. He does become progressively mentally unbalanced the more he envisions a pornographic nightmare beyond his ken in his mind's green eye--not unlike an ever faster runaway freight train high-balling over five acts--but never stupid. As vulnerable as he is to Iago's machinations to convince him that his teenaged bride is making "the beast with the two backs" under young Cassio--due in parts to Othello's and Desdemona's great disparity in age, class and race--he is still a General, a very good one.

Othello knows he has promoted Cassio over Iago; he understands soldiers' gripes and fancies of revenge against superiors when passed over. Othello also knows it is rumored that he had cuckolded Iago with Emilia some years before; he surely knows that Iago believes the rumor and is perhaps one of the reasons he bypasses the expected, internally logical choice of Iago for the military promotion instead of Cassio.

Othello had to have had doubts. Always. I felt it as an actor, but I was too young to prove it to a director; I recognized it as a writer; I knew it as a director.

"Honest, honest Iago" is so often voiced by Othello and others I have come to think of it as the Bard testing our affection for his admonition that one can "protest too much" to be believed. Entirely, that is; undoubtedly Othello is virtually certain that Desdemona is guilty and must die "else she'll betray more men," but that 'virtually' is by no subconscious or conscious means total. How can it be? From Shakespeare's words we know the soul-altering depth of Othello's love for Desdemona; it is my opinion that Shakespeare also wrote his greatest 'love story' with "Othello." Where else in the canon is sexual love--not lust, not courtly love, not puppy love, not royal love--so completely the plot? Singular. There are no subplots in "Othello"; there is no humor in "Othello," not one line of it. As said, it is a runaway train en route to a horrific crash from beginning to end.

I believe that up to the very last millisecond Othello has hellishly maddening, ping-ponging obsessive urges between murdering Desdemona for her imagined adultery, and saying to hell with it all and making love to her then and there on the "wedding sheets," which have not yet been used for their purpose in the week-old marriage. Consequently, we staged the scene with moments of true romantic tenderness, even two very loving embraces, along with undulating peaks of fury and violence. However, even in the seconds before he finally places the pillow over her face, in our production Othello stops and lets Desdemona pray while he is equivocal one last time.

We even have Othello carry the dead Desdemona in his arms from the white-on-white sanctity of the killing-bed to the apron of the stage and lay her gently on the floor, in effect 'giving her' to the audience while he does his "Now, how dost thou look now" soliloquy. One would think it not logical or seemly to place such a treasure upon the 'ground'; but, because it is Shakespeare, who knew the power of 'direct address' upon an audience, it works. Even more so when Othello soon dies from his self-inflicted wound stretched out along the apron in an extension of the line with Desdemona's body, their faces over-lapping, and their lips almost touching--with Emilia's body extending the line further still, but upstage a pace, adding a richly layered tableau before the stage goes to black.

We took big risks creatively, although staying faithful to the standard MIT script, and period. And we did not lose. In truth, at the moment, I am far more relieved than I am excited at making the finals. I would have had to dig a very deep hole and get into it still shoveling if the DVD of our live performance had not been chosen as one of the 12 finalists.

But I am exceedingly proud of our student actors; they astonished me. As mentioned, I have a long relationship with "Othello"--as a play, not as a piece of literature--and have had occasion to think about it extensively over the years. I had a dream of how I would like to do the show if I ever again got the opportunity. Little did I know I would get that opportunity in China with Chinese student actors performing English--Elizabethan English in iambic pentameter, no less--as a second language!


It takes years for native English speaking actors to learn how to perform Shakespeare; most whom try are never successful at it. These Chinese university students did it in about two-and-a-half months! And they did it in such a way that my spine would tingle even during rehearsals. They were fearless, intuitive and trusting, which allowed us to realize my long goal of staging a different "Othello."

But I have not a clue if we will stage a winning "Othello" in Hong Kong in late May. I know our student actors are polished enough to win it all; but I do not know if my self-indulgent staging convictions are good and true enough to win in Hong Kong, or anywhere else for that matter.

I will keep you informed during the process.

P.S. While a festive week-long trip to Hong Kong is reward aplenty for most Mainland Chinese university students, I failed to mention the award for winning it all in Hong Kong. The three actors of the winning scene receive a trip to London and the full Shakespeare tour this summer; the director gets to tag along.

 

12:22 AM / Editor / permalink    4 comments

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4 Comments:

Congratulations, and good luck for Hong Kong.

Chris Waugh

By  bezdomny, at 7:26 PM  

Thanks, Chris; it was a pleasure seeing you at the dinner party a few weeks back.

All the best,

Joseph

By  Joseph, at 11:46 AM  

when do you know that you won!

By  yaya, at 3:37 PM  

Dear Yaya,

The finals' festivities will be from May 16 to May 25, with the nine-night stay filled with activities theatrical, celebratory and Hong Kong-scenic. However, the 12 finalists will present their live performances for judging May 21, 22 and 23 (4 schools a night); the winner will be decided and announced on the 23rd, some anxiety-ridden moments after the last of the 12 schools have performed.

Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to leave a comment.

all the best,

Joseph

By  Joseph, at 6:06 PM  

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