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| Janie Brookshire as Desdemona and Owiso Odera as Othello with the cast of Shakespeare’s Othello Credit: ©Carol Pratt/Folger Theatre |
by Stephanie Green
“…I kiss’d thee ere I kill’d thee: no way but this; Killing myself, to die upon a kiss.”
Those are the diabolical famous last words of one of Shakespeare’s most tragic heroes, Othello, whose tale is brought to stirring life at the Folger Theatre through December 4.
Othello (Owiso Odera) believes his wife Desdemona, played by the dainty blonde Janie Brookshire, is an adulteress, and in the end, strangles her in bed, rendering her one of the Bard’s most innocent victims. And he is led down this path of murderous rage by the scheming Iago, whose cunning is played to perfection by Ian Merrill Peakes.
It’s the tale of the “kiss of death,” with an electric performance by actors whose chemistry and physical dissimilarities provide a palpable force in their more intimate scenes together, all amplified by a Turkish set design, haunting music, rich oriental rugs, and belly dancers. But the best reason to see Othello may just be how it works through the themes of racism, love, jealousy and betrayal to make it one of the best shows at the Folger in the past year.
