The “green-eyed monster which doth mock” is set to come to life on the stage of San José’s National Theater Sept. 22 and 23, in a production of the Shakespearean tragedy “Othello, the Moor of Venice.”
The play will be performed in the language of the Bard by TNT Theatre Britain, led by director Paul Stebbings. The renowned touring troupe has brought other Shakespearean works, including “Hamlet” and “King Lear,” to Costa Rica in recent years.
The production features an impressive cast, including Eugene Washington as Othello, Holly Hinton as Desdemona and David Chittenden as the villainous Iago. All have notable experience on both stage and screen.
Shakespeare is believed to have penned “Othello” in the early 17th century, but, as is the case with most of the Bard’s work, the play’s universal themes of love, jealousy, racism and betrayal make it relevant in any age.
“‘Othello’ was written by Shakespeare in his maturity as an author. Its poetry is finer than ‘Hamlet,’ its psychology deeper than ‘Macbeth,’ its love story more compelling than ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and its heartbreaking tragedy more moving than ‘King Lear,’” Stebbings said in a press release about the production.
While attempting to stay true to the original and evoke a style similar to what would have been experienced in the time of Shakespeare, TNT’s production of the play will feature an original score written by Thomas Johnson. In addition to speaking their lines, the actors will play music and sing.
This production of “Othello” kicked off its seven-month tour through 30 countries on May 11, starting in Ramat Gan, Israel. Costa Rica and El Salvador are the only two American countries included in the tour, which will finish Dec. 5 in Suzhou, China.
Tickets may be bought online at www.specialticket.net or by phone at 2206-7770, and range in price from ¢6,000 to ¢22,000 (about $12 to $43). Both shows start at 8 p.m.
