Othello Jr!

John Russell
Jun 23, 2020
2 min read

Updated: Jul 30, 2020

Act III, Scene iv

In another of her regular strokes of stunning insight, Kaede realized that Othello and Desdemona's relationship could fit right in on a 1950s sitcom, although (spoiler alert!) Shakespeare's couple of course has a far more tragic end. This insight became the starting point for our production.

Maggie was so pleased to wear that amazing dress, compliments of Grummy, who had made it for the role of Juliet. As I explained earlier, it did not wind up fitting with what the muses had in mind for that particular scene. Worked great here though! The nurse's smock found its way back in too, albeit worn by a younger character and with increased panache.

Speaking of my mother, you'll see that she plays a far more central role in this one than mere costume design. Thanks to her presence in a picture from my study abroad experience in Egypt that we wound up using as a prop, it just seemed natural to include her. And me. It may get a little out of hand...

Finally, let me just note this scene's thematic resonance for 2020 America. After all, it depicts a respectable, noble black man (played somewhat awkwardly by Ronan) getting his life ruined by a white man (not present in this scene yet responsible for its conflict) for petty and downright racist reasons. I wonder if Shakespeare, problematic though he was, somehow had a sense of the ways in which Europeans were already soullessly sabotaging so much of the world. Or maybe it just felt like a good story to him. Then again, isn't a profound sense of having captured and revealed truth precisely what makes a story good?