★★★★★

“gorgeous to look at and stunningly staged”

Shakespeare’s “Othello” is categorised as a tragedy. After all, the full title ‘The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice’ puts it in that box, although it has often been argued that it is not so easy to pigeonhole. While not specifically a ‘Problem Play’, it always has been problematic, due to its controversial and complex issues – particularly regarding race and misogyny. However, there is no problem whatsoever with Tom Morris’ beautifully and stylishly directed revival which captivates throughout, focusing more on the troubled motivations of an unhinged protagonist and his antagonist, Iago.

David Harewood is an imposing Othello with an implicit vulnerability, the degree of which he portrays with an understated precision. Morris makes explicit Othello’s epilepsy, but it is Harewood who manages to convey that there is much more going on under the skin. This play is less about the blackness of his skin than the greenness of the eyes. The monster looms large, drawing audible gasps from the audience at the key moments of violence. Toby Jones, as a deliciously impish Iago, steals more than his fair share of jealousy too. In turn, he shares his resentful and covetous secrets with the audience while manipulating his victims. A show-stealing, darkly mischievous performance that amazingly manages to tease out perverse comedy with impeccable timing; but still be pretty creepy too.

The timeless quality is enhanced by Ti Green’s use of modern costume, set against her opulent, regal backdrops that could belong to any era. The gold trimmings of the theatre’s auditorium stretch to the back of the stage in the shape of gilded picture frames that slip away to reveal the bed on which the murderous climax takes place. Richard Howell’s lighting creates suitably unsettling moods, softening us with warm coppers and cobalts, before shattering our complacency with crashes of white. PJ Harvey’s music (composed with Jon Nicholls) bubbles underneath, often unnoticed and subliminal; unnerving yet still magnificently stylised.

Caitlin Fitzgerald’s Desdemona matches the grandeur. Regal in stature she fights back at her husband’s powerplay with a stillness and strength that (almost) conceals her fear of her own inevitable fate. Video projections reveal the dual emotions in her eyes up close – a fitting omen for the final tragic scenes. It is in these scenes that the peripheral characters take centre stage too – notably Vinette Robinson’s Emilia, the wife of Iago, who breaks out of her subservient pragmatism to deliver lines rich with emotion. Luke Treadaway, as the easily led, hard-done-by Cassio, is impressively charismatic, mixing gallantry and gullibility in explosive measures. Tom Byrne, as Roderigo, adds a lighter touch. Another pawn in Iago’s great scheme, he is more of a fool for love, allowing himself to be easily manipulated.

The whole story is crystal clear, each actor masterfully enunciating Shakespeare’s text and projecting to the rafters with ease. The only slight quibble is that the writing is, at times, a bit long-winded, to say the least. But who’s going to argue with the playwright? This slick production swiftly steers through the soliloquies to stab at the unpalatable truths of human nature. Shakespeare may have written ‘Othello’ surrounded by different principles and outlooks in society, but Morris and company take his words and speak to us in a modern setting with just as much urgency. The show is gorgeous to look at and stunningly staged. Pacy and provocative, filmic and theatrical, full of dark humour and darker candour. Compelling, chilling and thrilling; and staged with the choreographic fluidity of a ballet.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY at Alexandra Palace Theatre

★★★★

“The icing on the (Christmas) cake is Paul Wills’ set”

You might think that an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” by Mark Gatiss, whose credits include ‘The League of Gentlemen’, ‘Little Britain’, ‘Inside No. 9’, ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Doctor Who’, would have an off-the-wall, surreal quality to it. To an extent you would be right, but overall Gatiss remains remarkably faithful to the original. Of course, there are surprises, twists and quirky humour, but also a profound respect for Dickens’ storytelling, and a forceful reminder that Dickens himself subtitled his novella ‘Being a Ghost Story of Christmas’.

Fittingly it opened just in time for Halloween at the Nottingham Playhouse, before sleighing into town for the run up to Christmas. Alexandra Palace, with its flaking façade and decaying Victorian grandeur, is the perfect setting. A touch too cavernous perhaps, which weakens the intimacy, but director Adam Penford’s production is aiming high for the cinematic scope of the supernatural. And in that he certainly delivers. Ella Wahlström’s surround sound could have come straight from the Dolby Laboratories, while Philip Gladwell’s lighting creates a vast spectrum of moods. The icing on the (Christmas) cake is Paul Wills’ set: an alternative, ramshackle, Victorian nightmare crowded with towering filing cabinets and desks, slickly rotating to reveal the cobbled streets, the graveyards, or the coal-fired warmth of family parlous.

The tale opens with a kind of prologue. Whereas Dickens’ famous opening lines describes Marley as being ‘dead as a doornail’, here we meet Marley very much alive. Albeit very briefly, before snuffing it, and then we flash forward seven years into more familiar territory. Keith Allen’s Scrooge is a bit of a bruiser, with a gentleman’s whiskers, unkempt enough to betray his miserly attitudes to all and sundry – including himself. Allen has an eye for detail, and we see in his facial expressions a boyish vulnerability beneath the thuggishness. His redemption is triggered more by fear than a deep-rooted desire to do right. Indeed, Marley’s ghost is a powerful figure in Peter Forbe’s hands; a booming personality that needs the thick mass of chains to restrain him. The three spirits of past present and future are not so spine-chilling, yet all bewitching in their own distinctive way. Particularly Joe Shire as the Ghost of Christmas Present – a throned, genie-like wizard with enough charisma to shake the loose change from the hardiest skinflint’s pockets.

“Whisps of ghosts fly above our heads as spectral carriages soar past the bell tower”

The human factor is a touch lacking, however, and our hearts are not always tugged sufficiently. It is the atmosphere that drives the piece rather than true emotion. Some chinks let sentiment flicker through, such as Tiny Tim’s deathbed scene. When Scrooge asks if these visions are the ‘shadows of things that will be, or the shadows of things that may be’, we do feel a quiver of feeling, but otherwise the true spirit is largely hidden behind the spectacle.

And a spectacle it is. Whisps of ghosts fly above our heads as spectral carriages soar past the bell tower. John Bulleid’s illusions, with Nina Dunn’s video design and Georgina Lamb’s choreography create a magical world that fills the vast, sepulchral space. For much of the time, though, we feel closer to Halloween than to Christmas, until the closing moments when the cast assemble into a Christmas Card tableau. A rousing ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ with gorgeous harmonies precedes a return to the narrator. Throughout, Geoffrey Beevers weaves a narrative thread that allows much of Dickens’ poetic language and humour to shine; into which Gatiss has thrown in a nice twist for good measure.

In the 1843 publication, Charles Dickens wrote in his preface that he has “endeavoured in this Ghostly little book to raise the Ghost of an idea”. Nearly two centuries later this ghost of an idea has grown into a seasonal favourite. Gatiss has added a few ghosts of his own that can only reinforce the longevity of such a classic. A haunting tale indeed, but still traditional enough to immerse us in the Christmas spirit.

Tag Archives: Nina Dunn

OTHELLO

★★★★★

Theatre Royal Haymarket

OTHELLO

Theatre Royal Haymarket

★★★★★

“gorgeous to look at and stunningly staged”

OTHELLO

Theatre Royal Haymarket

Reviewed on 4th November 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Brinkhoff/Mögenburg

Previously reviewed at this venue:

SALOMÉ | ★★★★ | September 2025

THE SCORE | ★★★½ | February 2025

WAITING FOR GODOT | ★★★★ | September 2024

FARM HALL | ★★★★ | August 2024

HEATHERS | ★★★ | July 2021

OTHELLO

OTHELLO

OTHELLO

A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story

★★★★

Alexandra Palace Theatre

A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A GHOST STORY at Alexandra Palace Theatre

★★★★

“The icing on the (Christmas) cake is Paul Wills’ set”

“Whisps of ghosts fly above our heads as spectral carriages soar past the bell tower”