MickeyJoTheatre Podcast: Othello (Theatre Royal Haymarket, West End) – ★★ Review

Host: Mickey Jo
Episode Date: November 6, 2025

Overview

In this episode, theatre critic and content creator Mickey Jo reviews the highly anticipated West End production of Othello at Theatre Royal Haymarket, directed by Tom Morris. The episode delves into whether this contemporary staging—featuring David Harewood reprising the lead role and Toby Jones as Iago—offers fresh insights into Shakespeare’s tragedy or falls short amid its bold choices. Through a combination of sharp critique and engaging storytelling, Mickey Jo provides a detailed assessment of performances, direction, design, and audience response.

Episode Highlights & Key Insights

[02:22] Introduction & Framing

• Mickey Jo contextualizes the production, noting it is the first in a planned series of contemporary Shakespearean stagings by Tom Morris for Chris Harper Productions.
• Expresses skepticism about the need for another Othello given frequent London stagings:

  “Having attended the show's opening night performance this evening, I am currently working very hard not to interpret [the series] as some kind of a threat. Othello. My God.” (02:22)

• Sets expectations for a review focused on performances, direction, design, and specifically the production’s thematic relevance.

[03:55] Othello: The Play and Its Stakes

• Reiterates the importance of a strong directorial perspective, especially considering Othello’s themes of devastating injustice against women and its depiction of racism.
• Provides an accessible summary of Othello’s plot and characters, highlighting:
  • Othello as a Black military general.
  • Desdemona (the object of tragedy and violence).
  • Iago’s manipulative machinations.
  • The play’s enduring relevance regarding the treatment of women and racial prejudice.
• Cautions that any modern production of Othello must grapple meaningfully with these themes.

[10:25] What This Production Gets (and Misses)

• Lack of Perspective:

  “It’s a little surprising then, to arrive upon an Othello that seems inspired to address neither [misogyny nor racism], at least not in any kind of meaningful or particularly effective way.” (10:39)

• Marketing vs. Reality: Criticizes disconnect between the show’s intense imagery in promotional materials and its lackluster stage presence.
• Tonality Issues:
  • Finds the show “tonally all over the place,” oscillating between dramatic and unintentionally comic moments.
• Audience Reaction:
  • Notes how the audience frequently laughs at lines referencing Iago’s “honesty,” undermining the play’s darkness.
  • Alarmed that the instruction “strangle her in her bed” (a pivotal moment of horror) received a laugh from the audience (13:38).

    “I just about lost my mind.” (13:40)

  • Argues the production inadvertently courted laughter with its staging and delivery, diluting the impact of its most tragic scenes.

[16:27] Performances

David Harewood as Othello

• Praised as “a really first-rate, terrific Othello” (16:34) with a strong initial sense of gravitas and leadership qualities.
• Noted for impressive emotional journey from presidential composure to devastated vulnerability.

  “When he delivers another of the play’s famous lines, ‘arise, Black Vengeance’, he finds this real resonance in his voice that invokes the sense of rolling thunder and a great storm approaching.” (18:36)

Toby Jones as Iago

• Offers a “very unique take”—a “common Everyman” not overtly villainous but perhaps lacking theatricality or insidiousness.
  • Some choices undercut dramatic tension, as “the scenes between them don’t flow in the way that they ought to.” (20:52)
• Sometimes too mild to make Iago’s complex plotting believable.

Caitlin Fitzgerald as Desdemona

• Noted for her (possibly) American accent and a portrayal skewing older than is typical.
• Desdemona comes across as naive from privilege rather than innocence, and the emotional connection to her character suffers.
• Her performance is sometimes at odds with the tone set by other cast members.

Vinette Robinson as Emilia

• Stands out particularly in the play’s final scenes, which Mickey describes as “effing fire.” (25:01)
• Commended for subtlety and emotional depth, becoming a late-stage highlight.

Luke Treadaway as Cassio

• Brief yet earnest; notable for his passion and believability amid the chaos.

[28:11] Creative & Technical Choices

Set and Design (by Ty Green)

• Stylish and functional, echoing the theatre’s gold interior.
• Utilization of the auditorium (actors moving through boxes) had promise, but the overall energy felt “static.”
• Scenic transitions during the war scene were visually strong but not always meaningful to the production’s urgency.

Projection Design (Nina Dunn)

• Creative use of projections: moonlight, red skies, close-ups of actors’ faces—intended to evoke humanity and tragedy; however, “feels like clutching at emotional straws.” (29:50)

Costume Design

• Described as “pseudo contemporary”—mixing modern military uniforms with hints of classical style.
• Some baffling choices: Rodrigo’s disguise as “a literal comedy beard,” and Desdemona’s outfits likened to “maternity wear” and “satin nightwear.”

  “I literally wrote down ‘who’s the chef in a Halloween costume?’” (30:40)

Sound & Music (PJ Harvey and John Nichols)

• Sound cues often abrupt or oddly absent; missed opportunities to underscore or shape tone in delicate moments.

  “Some of those laugh moments… wouldn’t happen if we had a better sense of the tone in that moment via a little bit of just sort of trembling underscore.” (33:19)

Lighting Design (Richard Howell)

• Expected intense red lighting (as per the show’s poster), but “we never saw a lighting state like that.” (35:58)
• Complex rigs lowered on stage for the finale never fulfilled their dramatic promise, resulting in a “legitimately inexplicable choice” (36:48).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the play’s themes:

  “At this point what I particularly yearn for from any production of Othello is a real perspective, some kind of a statement on the final act of the play that we are building towards here. … A devastating and horrifying violent injustice committed against women in the current social and cultural landscape.” (04:44)

• On audience laughter during dark moments:

  “The delivery of the line ‘strangle her in her bed’ as an instruction from Iago to Othello got a huge laugh, which I just about lost my mind at.” (13:38)

• On direction:

  “The whole thing is very symmetrically directed across the stage, as though we arrive have a conversation with a minimal shift in the power dynamic and not nearly enough emotional conference between these characters, all of which makes the dialogue in these long scenes start to feel particularly tedious.” (14:37)

• On Harewood’s Othello:

  “This is Othello utterly ready for military leadership. And we get the sense that it’s going to take some considerable doing to unravel him from the point where he starts, which is why it’s so impressive where David eventually gets to.” (17:07)

• On Vinette Robinson as Emilia:

  “Emilia’s final moments, to use my most articulate description I wrote down in my little book here, were effing fire. And Vinette does a remarkable job of really becoming ablaze with emotion and indignation and injustice in these final few scenes, and her Amelia eventually becomes a highlight of the production that she scarcely appears in.” (25:01)

• On accessibility:

  “I do think it’s a particularly accessible first-time Othello for anyone not previously particularly au fait with the play, or necessarily with Shakespeare even, I think this one is quite easy to grasp.” (15:11)

Final Assessment

• The production, while accessible for Othello newcomers, fails to offer strong thematic insight or fulfill the emotional and theatrical power expected of a major West End Othello.
• Tonal inconsistencies, odd audience reactions, and several bewildering staging and design choices undermine the tragedy’s impact.
• Despite powerful individual performances—notably by David Harewood and Vinette Robinson—most choices, from casting to creative design, don’t coalesce for meaningful resonance.
• Nonetheless, Mickey Jo encourages listeners to form their own opinions and see the production, especially for Othello newcomers:

  “I actually think that this is a pretty decent first Othello for people who have no prior experience with the play. And what is theatre if we aren’t all going and making up our own opinions in the meantime.” (37:24)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:22 – Introduction and context for this production
• 04:44 – The play’s significance and stakes for modern productions
• 10:25 – Review: production’s lack of perspective, tone problems, audience laughter
• 16:27 – Performances: Harewood, Jones, Fitzgerald, Robinson, Treadaway
• 28:11 – Creative/design choices: set, costumes, sound, lighting
• 36:48 – Lighting critique and final thoughts
• 37:24 – Closing remarks and appraisal for first-time Othello viewers

Tone: Informal, witty, heavily opinionated, and deeply stagey—the review blends sharp theatrical analysis with pop culture references and self-aware theatrical snark, reflecting Mickey Jo’s lively social-media critic persona.