There would be no way to produce “Othello” without a lot of sound and fury, given the depths of hatred, fear and jealousy Shakespeare packed into his tragedy. Now Synetic Theater magnifies still further the intensely passionate makeup of the play by emphasizing the distorted psychological machinations that allow Othello to believe he has been betrayed by Desdemona and compel Iago to destroy his master and his own wife.
In the Synetic production, the abstract elements of love, spite, terror and envy that propel most productions of the play are tangible and visible. When the seed of jealousy has been planted in Othello’s mind, video images of Desdemona and Cassio appear wherever Othello looks, confirming his worst fears. Cell phone cameras are used to capture compromising photos, which are then broadcast everywhere to up the ante in the jealousy wars.
In the hands of a lesser theater group, all this might come across as unnecessary or tasteless. But director Paata Tsikurishvili doesn’t let the technology trivialize or subvert the story. He uses it to deepen the narrative we already know.
In this new adaptation by Tsikurishvili and Nathan Weinberger, Synetic offers a brief prologue. Othello (Roger Payano) is first seen as a slave chained to a ship during a horrendous storm at sea. After helping fight off a band of murderous Turks, Othello is rewarded by the Duke of Venice (Peter Pereyra), who promotes him to the rank of General. Othello then promotes Cassio (Scott Brown) to be his lieutenant, immediately triggering the resentment of Iago, who wanted that role for himself.
From there on, the superficial story of “Othello” remains familiar, but there is a major difference in the way Synetic tells the tale. There is not one Iago but three (Philip Fletcher, Irina Tsikurishvili, Alex Mills), a schizoid team of scheming, malignant villains who do everything from taunting the lovesick Roderigo (Vato Tsikurishvili) to setting up Othello for the sake of revenge.
Irina Tsikurishvili’s choreography emphasizes the sharp edges, knots and gnarls of “Othello,” but the distortions are particularly visible in the Iago scenes, which display both Iago’s frenzied malignancy and his wicked humor, descending into vaudevillian tomfoolery when leading Roderigo astray.
There are few gentle scenes in this “Othello.” With the exception of the marriage of Othello and Desdemona (Salma Shaw), the action seems to swirl nonstop, full of spectacular fights as well as energized waltzes and contra dances.
As with all Synetic productions, the original music, by Konstanine Lortkipanidze, is integral to the script. The majority of the score is vivid electronic music interspersed with occasional vocal sounds (sound design by Lortkipanidze and Irakli Kavsadze), whisperings that intensify the sense of distrust onstage. Andrew Griffin’s effective lighting design continually pierces the dark with small flashlights and cell phone screens.
If you go
‘Othello’
Where: Synetic Theatre, Family Theatre, Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; through July 3
Info: $30 to $55; 888-444-1324; synetictheater.org
Anastasia Rurikov Simes’ set consists of five huge, triangular shapes and three sharply raked playing surfaces. Her costume for Othello is a tailored, long black coat; Desdemona is dressed in a gossamer, floor-length white gown. The trio of evil Iagos wear form-fitting black and red garments with red gloves, their hair tinted red and black. In his director’s notes, Paata Tsikurishvili says his concept of the tragedy allowed Synetic to play “in the surreal and abstract world rather than in the literal.” Although it vividly illustrates the surreal, Synetic does not in fact forsake the literal world. The strength of this “Othello” is that it creates an ominous new universe where unadorned facts and abstractions intersect, where a man’s visions of his deepest fears are embedded in his reality, as well as in his fantasies and nightmares.
