Review of ‘Othello’ (2025 Theatre Royal Haymarket): “Toby Jones outshines a moor of A-list performers”

London’s West End welcomes its latest reinterpretation of one of Shakespeare’s signature tragedies, directed by Tom Morris and starring David Harewood, Toby Jones, and Caitlin Fitzgerald. Guillermo Nazara shares his views on the show to let us know if this modern revival of a classic is bound to earn a decent reputation, reputation, reputation.

You may have noticed the bold letters in its sanguine poster. If there’s one single thing that won’t be featured in this story, that would be heaven. Fortunately, its opposite was hardly the state audiences were put through last night, when the Theatre Royal Haymarket hosted the opening of Chris Harper’s celebrity-cast Othello. It has everything any modern West End enthusiast, with a heavy wallet to back up their indulgence, could hope for: an all-time classic revived through fresh lenses, presented through opulent lenses, and performed by an endless array of familiar faces.

The plan seems to have worked on this occasion, but probably not as smoothly as producers may have wished for. There’s a remarkable understanding of Shakespeare’s opus in the dexterous hands of director Tom Morris, whose contemporary reinterpretation emphasizes the text’s endurance. So does his slightly ironic approach to the material, tilting towards a cynically amusing exploration of the play’s bleak themes.

It’s possible that yesterday’s rendition got more laughs than intended, however. Perhaps a small directional glitch, or maybe it’s just that new audiences tend to satirize the Bard more than they should — my latest experiences at The Globe second the latter. Yet, Morris’s execution of Shakespeare’s harrowing recount is pleasantly solid. His taste for spectacle is evenly balanced by a firm grip on the narrative. All in all, the story flows with impeccable rhythm, secured by its dynamic staging and penetrating look into the characters’ psyches.

Ti Green’s resourceful design makes a vital contribution to that accomplishment. His integration of the set with the rest of the venue helps erase the line between the play’s universe and our own. Thick golden arches stand in a stark room as audiences flock in, creating a seamless transition with the venue’s architecture. Morris’s blocking eagerly embraces the concept, using the royal boxes as balconies and bringing actors all across the stalls area to an extent that could almost make Julie Taymor proud.

Essentially, all those choices prove effective and even surprising at times. A striking thunderstorm sequence leads to a complete transformation of the space, where metal chains serve as a backdrop screen, supported by translucent panels gliding across to delineate the different scenarios. Eerie projections of Othello and Desdemona’s faces emerge throughout the protagonist’s gradual descent into jealous insanity, while subtle lighting changes accentuate the personages’ nature and the emotional significance of their rhetoric.

The sense of intimacy prevails throughout the entire performance. The proximity to the characters’ journeys permeates the viewer vividly enough to win their compliance. And Toby Jones’s exquisite portrayal of Iago begins as the primary suspect and continues as the undisputed culprit.

His mastery of Shakespeare’s lines blends an impeccable poetic cadence with his naturalist acting style, resulting in a riveting interpretation that brims with truthfulness and adopts verse and metaphor as its lingua franca. His feeble physical appearance next to the vigorous Othello (played by David Harewood) underlines the character’s perfidious motivations, coming across as the tiny-man archetype, trying to compensate for his shortcomings by plotting others’ demise.

Some other company members manage to capture some of that sparkle, although never to the same level. Luke Treadaway puts together a charismatic rendition through his impulsive take on Cassio, while Tom Byrne displays a faint comedy bone as Roderigo. At the same time, Vinette Robinson stands out as Emilia thanks to her wide-ranging interpretation — reserved at first, but subsequently breaking into an explosive, galvanizing final soliloquy.

Wistfully, the same can’t be said about David Harewood’s Othello. Although he flaunts a commanding presence, his delivery is still overrun with more flaws than virtues. There’s no nuance or tonality in his excessively hyperbolic declamation, most of which is completely devoid of layering, depth, and even speech inflections. Similarly, Caitlin Fitzgerald’s Desdemona is disappointingly flat, unable to convey any sentiment and, for the most part, lacking sufficient chemistry with her onstage partner.

Although its staggering visuals and Jones’s world-class acting make this production a more than competent new addition to the West End’s current offer, the remaining two leads’ heavy handling of the piece may prevent previous Othello incarnations from turning to the green-eyed monster when looking at this one. Despite preserving the enticement and resonance of Shakespeare’s original creation, its poignancy is compromised by those missing strokes of polish, which ultimately tarnish the faultlessness of other elements. Yet, we can’t ignore how commercially smart its casting is. And that will likely put money in thy purse.

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All pictures credit to Brinkhoff/Mögenburg.

Othello plays at London’s Theatre Royal Haymarket until 17 January. Tickets are available on the following link.

By Guillermo Nazara