OTHELLO - Theatre Royal Haymarket (11/12/25)

Murder, manipulation, mistrust, this riveting yet rushed revival just about has it all

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Love is a fickle mistress, it can blind us, drive us mad, and the paranoia it can elicit has been known to lead one to commit rash, even devastating, acts of wickedness; enter the general Othello, a man deeply in love, but wildly naïve and, as it turns out, easily emotionally exploited.

In one of William Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, director Tom Morris has kept an almost laser degree of focus on the dastardly machinations of our main antagonist Iago. Bitterly jealous but a master manipulator, he spends the entirety of the play subtly scattering the seeds of doubt, psychologically destroying our eponymous hero from the inside out. It is discernibly dark and brooding, albeit slightly tonally inconsistent, as we are pulled from romance to thriller and back again, without really ever feeling like we settle on one side of the coin.

The company of "Othello" (credit: Brinkhoff Moegenburg)

Like with much of the bard's work, performances and delivery of the text are crucial to the success of the production in question, so it is always important anything surface level isn't overbearing. And although director Morris has assembled a supreme creative team to visually and aurally embellish this staging, especially the vivid, inventive lighting and video design from Richard Howell and Nina Dunn respectively, it never feels like we're distracted from the heart of the storytelling. There is something epic about its scale, and this is in terrific service of the material.

There is no shortage of noteworthy performances from this cast, such as the beautiful solemnity, yet fervent strength from Caitlin Fitzgerald's Desdemona, and Tom Byrne as Roderigo was quite the perfect simpleton, bringing great humour, but simultaneously a wonderful sense of poignancy. David Harewood sends chills down your spine as our titular hero, with his domineering ferocity and passionate rage building marvellously and coming to a head at the play's climax; and across the board we get (mostly) top quality diction and understanding of the text.

Toby Jones and David Harewood (credit: Brinkhoff Moegenburg)

Undoubtedly though, the performance of Toby Jones left the most lasting impression. Taking on the role of Iago, he hits a breathtaking balance between the benevolent facade he outwardly presents, and the conniving true face that slips through in his numerous soliloquies,. Managing to not only play the unwitting Othello like the proverbial trumpet, he equally has us, the audience, second guessing how we should be reacting to his witticisms and subtle nods.

The most notable takeaway from this revival isn't necessarily going to be anything to do with its deeper thematic material, as arguably director Morris doesn't push hard enough with regards to how it addresses the deep-rooted insecurity and jealousy of Othello himself, in spite of a truly magnificent performance from Harewood. What this production lacks in depth, and inability to decide whether it wants to be a romance or a drama, it more than makes up for in how it mentally pulls us, the audience, back and forth and constantly has us second guessing for whom we should be rooting. It won't leave a particularly lasting impression, but it's still a fairly solid showing.

★★★☆☆ (3*)

"Othello" runs at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until the 17th of January 2026 (tickets)

{PR/Gifted tickets}