Othello

James Earl Jones was supposed to be the BBC's Othello, but British Actors' Equity objected to an American in the part.

Anthony Hopkins as an Arab (not African) Othello so underplays and minimizes the role that the result seems to be something other than tragedy.

The sets, which are Jonathan Miller's usual cluttered interiors with references to paintings, are part of the problem.

Penelope Wilton's Desdemona appears unattractive and willful.

Bob Hoskin's Iago is the most interesting part of the production, realistic and vicious, scheming and low-class, funny and angry. If Iago were meant to act the villain at every moment in the play, this would be a nearly definitive performance.

I believe it was Laurence Olivier who theorized that William Shakespeare and his lead actor Richard Burbage were bending elbows one night when Burbage drunkenly taunted, "I can play any role you can write." And Shakespeare said, "Oh yeah?" and wrote Othello.

The play is indeed entitled "Othello," but the focus is almost always stolen by the villain. Bob Hoskins here is a brilliant Iago, character motivations for once crystal clear, his accent emphasizing class conflict, his ready laughter only occasionally too much. You will not find a better Iago anywhere.

We know that James Earl Jones was the first choice to star in this production, and that British Equity threatened to close down not just the one show but the whole BBC Shakespeare series if a single non-British actor was hired.

However, when James Earl Jones played Othello on Broadway, it was common wisdom that Christopher Plummer's Iago stole the show from him. So we shouldn't fantasize too much that Jones's presence here might have changed everything.

Anthony Hopkins begins as a very confident character. However it is not possible to believe his backstory, that recitation of bravery and romance that wins Desdemona's heart. Hopkins doesn't look like a general, just like an earnest actor trying to solve problems. He hits a sweet spot just after Iago's first insinuations, when Desdemona appears and charms him all over again. After that, the performance goes downhill, and some of his choices undermine the later scenes.

Is it miscasting, or just a play where the gargantuan scale of emotions defies reduction to television scale? The Welles and Olivier productions were designed for large screens, not a small one.

The much-loved Penelope Wilton here is the most "English" Desdemona I've ever seen. She does everything right, but there's nothing remotely Mediterranean about this daughter of Venice. Rosemary Leach gives the performance of her career as Emilia, honest and vigorous without a cliché in sight. The rest of the cast is excellent, with an overall energy level higher than the norm in this series.

Jonathan Miller's direction concentrates on the domestic side of the drama, downplaying the public aspects, and bringing his background as a neurologist to the various varieties of mental illness on display. The visuals are once again Old Masters, with some lovely Georges de la Tour effects over candle-lit dinner.

However the dramatic heights are not successfully stormed. If you want to see Othello with the thunder Shakespeare implied, go instead to Verdi's opera "Otello," which concentrates on the core of the conflict and distills sheer dynamite. Placido Domingo can be fairly stolid and workmanlike in the part, so I'd recommend you track down a black and white Italian TV production starring Mario del Monaco for maximum impact. Here is the heroic "punch in the stomach" Othello you've always dreamed about.

There is controversy here about the performances of Hopkins and Hoskins as the two major protagonists, and controversy about the nature of the production.

That there is controversy is understandable - it's a very schizophrenic production, careful and understated and clipped and British for the most part, excellently acted by a tasteful cast, Penelope Wilton and Rosemary Leach outstanding. Yet the two principals are given free rein.

Hoskins' Iago is the more successful of the two, scintillating in monologue, focusing on the evil of the character, trying to convey his plausibility via his rough charm. Hard to imagine the stiff-upper- lip types of Jonathan Miller's Venice being taken in by such a fellow, entertain them though he might.

But there is more than one letter's difference between Hoskins and Hopkins. Hopkins' performance is, as some of the reviewers have pointed out, as ripe a piece of eye-rolling ham as one is likely to see. Despite other reviewers' valiant attempts, it is really not a defensible performance, rising so rapidly from suave control to chewing the scenery, persuaded far too easily by an Iago who is obviously on the make.

The exaggerations help provide a context for his tense scenes with Desdemona - we certainly know how much he is holding back. The power of the moment when he slaps her is impressive. But when he lets rip, the acting style gets closer to Chongo out of the Banana Splits than any more accomplished thespian.

The effect is not at all helped by Hopkins sporting the most extraordinary pair of trousers I have ever seen, designed by Richard Hughes. The bizarre codpiece looks like Hopkins has had a painful accident with a stapler, and his stature is seriously compromised by odd curving stripes down the legs. This produces a number of odd and unintentionally humorous effects, most awfully during Emilia's affecting death scene, where Hopkins, standing behind the bed as a witness, appears to have little tiny legs, like Toulouse-Lautrec.

Either Miller could not control Hopkins, or gave him his head. It doesn't matter which - the result is an unsatisfactory mishmash, neither one thing nor the other.

'Othello', regardless of any criticisms of considered implausibility (such as for some how easily Iago is believed by Othello and how long it takes for Emilia to come forward) and political incorrectness, is nonetheless one of my most fondly regarded Shakespeare plays. Not just the masterful language, with some of Shakespeare's most famous lines that have true intensity and poetic meaning, but also the dramatic conflict, both darkly intense and poignant, and one of his most interesting characters in the evil incarnate Iago (Othello too is one of his more interesting titular characters).

Anybody who has not seen or heard Verdi's opera 'Otello', one of his last but also one of his greatest, should definitely consider doing so. Actually like it even more than the play itself, with the dramatic conflict almost searing, especially in the relationship between Othello and Iago, and Iago is even more evil particularly in a big scene where he denounces God and everything. Enough of that, as that is not under review but more an interesting side-note (or at least an attempt at one). This production is a worthwhile one and anybody wanting to see as many Shakespeare productions available as possible should give it a go. As should those wanting to see every production of 'Othello' and the whole BBC Television Shakespeare series, featuring productions of all of his plays, some productions are better than others but they are all worth at least a one-time watch and the series overall is fascinating.

Personally do think that this 'Othello' is in the lower half of the series. Not because it is bad, far from it, don't consider any of the productions unwatchable. But it is more of a mix than other productions of the BBC Television Shakespeare series of things that were done very well and others that could have been done better, and was expecting more to it.

It's most of the cast that make this 'Othello' worth watching. Notably Bob Hoskins, whose Iago is a wonderfully uneasy mix of wickedly humorous and chillingly malevolent, even if the giggling did annoy a bit. Actually do think as well that his deceit is easy to buy with him appearing in public as someone who is good company, has a sense of humour and is seemingly truthful and then when alone and his intentions and plans are made clear (which the production makes crystal clear without being overt) one sees how much of a snake he really is. Rosemary Leach also stands out as a loyal but also at times shrewd Emilia. Penelope Wilton's Desdemona is poignant and noble, actually found myself not caring too awfully about her being too old. David Yelland and Anthony Pedley are strong as Cassio and Rodrigo.

Jonathan Miller directs tastefully and carefully, with a nice job done bringing out the character traits and the character relationships. Othello and Iago's is crucial to work and mostly it's dynamite, though Hoskins deserves much of the credit for this. He does do well at times in building upon the play's strengths, there are intense moments and the latter stages of the last act are movingly handled. Desdemona and Emilia's is also very well done, as is Iago's dominance over Rodrigo. Shakespeare's prose flows beautifully and equally as much in the delivery. The interiors are quite nice if simple, and the same goes for the camera work.

However, did find Anthony Hopkins' Othello inconsistent. At times he is very good, particularly good was his final speech which was very powerful. He also works very well in his scenes with Hoskins, until he becomes convinced of the unfaithfulness and that's when the hamminess becomes more apparent. The more passionate, raging scenes didn't convince as much, found him too histrionic and verging on insanity. That's why his later moments with Desdemona don't work, where everything else going on and how it was done feeling subdued in comparison. Miller does do well in enough aspects of the staging, but there were times where it felt like he was too careful and safe, the penultimate act for example when the tension should increasingly build could have done with more of that tension and more of it building. Some scenes lack oomph and, while it is laudable that the play was treated with respect, Miller could have afforded to take more risks and do things new.

The BBC Television Shakespeare series' budgets were not high and one does see in more productions than others obvious limitations. 'Othello' to me is one of the more particularly under-budgeted productions. There is a drab look, the lighting is sometimes too dark, other productions in the series did better at showing authenticity and the costumes and make-up are at best uninspired. Othello's looked both bizarre and ugly.

On the whole, to be seen mainly for 'Othello' and Shakespeare completests, and there are a good deal of impressive things, but uneven. 6/10

A most excellent production of one of the Bard's more difficult plays mainly because of the controversy in these politically correct times of a white actor blacking up to play the lead. But since Othello is a Moor and thus a Mediterranean type he does not have to be portrayed as an African. Remember the Moors ruled Spain for a long time until expelled by Ferdinand and Isabella so Othello does not have to be any darker, than a Spaniard. Anthony Hopkins gives a masterful performance as the Moor, one of the best I have seen comparable only with Placido Domingo in the opera Otello. His gradual change of character from gentle loving husband to insane jealousy is extremely well done and his way with the verse gives full meaning to Shakespeare's words. He is well supported by the cast of less well known stage actors. For me the only jarring note was Bob Hoskins portrayal of Iago, so obviously a nasty piece of work that one wonders how Othello would be taken in by such an overt villain. His giggling also becomes irritating, definitely not the best Iago I have seen. One thing is sure, this production emphasises what a great Shakespearean actor the stage lost when Hopkins left for Hollywood. Had he remained in the theatre he would easily have outstripped Richard Burton's reputation and maybe even Olivier's. Anyone who values real Shakespearean acting should not miss this production.