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Performed by the LSC at The Lawn, Lincoln 30th
March - 3rd April 1999
Petwood Hotel, Woodhall Spa 17th - 18th April
1999
Director: Rob Smith
Assistant Director: Liz Lucas
Music: Laurie Bennett
Cast
Othello, General in the Venetian army: Neil Perkins
Desdemona, his wife: Lisa Melligan
Cassio, his Lieutenant: Russell Grantham
Iago, his Ancient: Ian Morfitt
Emilia, wife of Iago: Liz Lucas
Bianca, mistress of Cassio: Maisie Lucas
Roderigo, in love with Desdemona: Chas Rodgers
Lady Da Vico, Senator General of Venice: Jo Clark
Brabantio, Desdemona's father: Richard Jones
Montano, Govenor of Cyprus: Richard Davis
Gentlemen of Cyprus: Rob Smith, Chris Ramsay and
Damo Waters
Othello has secretly married Desdemona, whose
father disowns her when he finds out. The couple travel to Cyprus
to defend it against the Turks. Iago, Othello's Ancient, is jealous
that the younger Cassio has been promoted above him and obviously
hates his General. He does everything he can to bring about the
downfall of Othello with astounding success.
"There are some difficult questions to
face when directing 'Othello'. Traditionally these have been how
should Othello be played? Should he be 'black' or an 'olive coloured'
Moor of North Africa? I believe that it is not Othello's race
that is fundamental to the play, but rather his 'otherness'. He
is the 'alien' who tries to assimilate himself into venetian society.
By marrying Desdemona, Othello was perhaps hoping to be fully
accepted by those around him. This is not to suggest that he does
not love her, but it creates an even more overwhelming blow when
he believes her to be adulterous. Not only has he lost her love,
but he contemplates the horror of bring ridiculed by the society
of which he has striven so hard to become a part."
Rob Smith, Director, 'Gentleman of Cyprus'.
"Both the performances at the Petwood Hotel
should have been subtitled,'Othello - The Aquatic Version'. It
rained so much that the marquee was practically underwater. We
could not go outside for entrances and exits, so we had to squelch
round the back of the audience to get on stage. It was really
hard competing with the rain and the heaters starting up every
few minutes. We got so desperate that Liz Lucas (Emilia) and I
stood backstage chanting the name of well known Druid and LSC
member, Dave Clayton, who regularly implores the old gods to keep
the rain away from our outdoor performances. We did not expect
anything to happen, so imagine our shock when after 5 minutes
of appealing to the heavens, the rain stopped!"
Lisa Melligan,'Desdemona'.
"The talented cast brought the famous tragedy
to life...a tremendous success...by this dedicated group of professional
players"
Trevor Reynolds, Horncastle News, April 1999
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