In brand new collaboration for 2017, the National Youth Theatre work in partnership with Frantic Assembly to present their award-winning adaptation of Othello.
“This is a mating ground. A dog-eat-dog kind of place. And it’s about to kick off…” Taking the Bard’s tale about Othello’s passionate affair with Desdemona away from its traditional Venice setting, the innovative theatre company’s production transports the action to a north England pub, a world of broken glass and beatings in the car park, where tension grows around the pool table and it’s all about to erupt.
The story centres on Othello, a high ranking soldier – noble, brave and victorious. Iago, passed over for a position in the army, fuels his diabolical revenge with hatred and snarling racism. Poignant, intense and heartbreaking, Othello mercilessly explores every inch of the human condition, in a tender love story shattered by one man’s obsessive hatred of another. Love, racism, jealousy and desire lie at its emotional core.
This electrifying take on Shakespeare’s thriller is set in 21st century Britain, and is celebrated for its physical and collaborative theatre, bringing the sex, violence, jealousy and paranoia of the tragedy into the modern day. Frantic Assembly’s adaptation originally opened at the Theatre Royal Plymouth in September 2008, before going on to enjoy a celebrated London run at the Lyric Hammersmith in 2015.
This radical version of Othello will now be performed by the NYT Rep Company, which offers free, practical, industry-based talent development in drama and performance over nine months to 16 NYT members. The course culminates in three months of performances in the West End at the Ambassadors Theatre.
This is the National Youth Theatre’s first staging of Othello since its acclaimed 1995/1996 production starring Chiwetel Ejiofor in the title role. Directed by Simon Pittman (Associate Director, Frantic Assembly) and performed by the 2017 NYT REP Company, don’t miss your opportunity to experience Shakespeare’s classic text like never before.
Age Recommendation: 14+. Contains scenes of a violent nature.
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