Review: OTHELLO at Shakespeare Theatre Company

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Wendell Pierce heads solid cast in Simon Godwin's fresh production

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The Shakespeare Theatre Company has had a rich history of stars lured to its stage — not just to sell tickets through big names. The actors nearly always deliver — and the company attracts them because of the quality and rigor it retains.

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That’s true too with the strong new production of “Othello,” led by Wendall Pierce, a standout on “The Wire” who has since conquered the stage in “Death of a Salesman” even as he continues to be a familiar face through TV roles in “Treme,” “Elsbeth” and the “ Jack Ryan ” series.

As the Moorish general in Shakespeare’s tragedy, he commands the stage even as he enters it. Yet his performance has shadings of vulnerability, breakdown, retribution and defeat even as it begins in triumph in matrimony and on the battlefield.

Artistic Director Simon Godwin ’s fresh staging has a contemporary setting — rock guitars between scenes, and guns rather than swords, yes, but once in uniform, soldiers can be soldiers in any era. And at its heart, “Othello” is a soldier’s tale about upending a leader though dark lies and deception in order to get ahead.

Indeed, the most contemporary scene is at the start, even while the audience is still reaching its seats. Ben Turner ’s seething Iago is pacing around a campsite, his wife Emila (the always great Melanie Field ) poking around at a BBQ.

He sits in front of a TV, gets up from his lawn chair, walks around some more and can’t quite rid himself from the anger that Othello had been promoted.

With a shaved head, cut off sleeves and unchecked rage, he might as well be a rural Proud Boy livid over a perceived DEI hire. And yes, race has always been central to “Othello,” whose Muslim, North African title character was routinely played in blackface all the way up to Laurence Olivier in the 1960s. That Paul Robeson , a black man, actually played the role in 1930 was a big deal. The first black actor to take the role at Stratford since then came in 1989. (Eight years later, another notable “Othello” at Shakespeare Theatre Company , had Patrick Stewart in the role white, as the rest of the cast was black.

Racial slurs are among Iago’s lies. “An old black ram is topping your white ewe,” he declares to Brabantio ( Joey Collins ), father of the newly-wedded Desdemona ( Olivia Cygan ). Othello’s exotic background causes some to think he must have used magic or otherwise bewitched the bride into matrimony.

And when the Duke of Venice ( Todd Scofield ) tries praise, he utters to the agitated father “If virtue no delighted beauty lack / your son-in-law is more fair than black.”

To which Pierce, in one of his many subtle physical mannerisms, does a fourth wall-breaking glance to the audience, eyebrow raised as if to convey: “Can you believe this is still happening?”

Especially for a play that dates back to about 1603, “Othello” reflects the urgency of the present day in its content more than through its costume, as when ts leaders declaring “Our wars are done!” In an odd echo of today’s headlines.

And of course there is that ugly, underlying hatred that causes all of Iago’s plotting, to convince Othello of the lie that his beloved Desdemona has betrayed him with another officer, Cassio (Lucas Iverson), leading to murderous consequences.

Pierce’s confident Othello is crushed by this possibility, adding an extra humanity during his woe. In many ways, though, this is Iago’s play to tell, since he addresses the audience in telling of his plans step by step, switching his personality as needed from loyal servant to sinisterly plotting underling. In this, the British actor Turner, who once played Louis XV on “Doctor Who,” is always on his toes and relentless.

At some point his wife becomes disgusted by all this and finally comes clean, revealing the sordid plan and confessing her role in it. It gives Field, who was such a standout in such other STC productions as “The Wild Duck” and “Uncle Vanya,” a kind of moral force. You can’t quite take your eyes off her.

The cast is uniformly good, from Cygan’s stridently innocent Desdemona to Iverson’s clueless Cassio, and his lover, Bianca, whose brief presence is given a sultry reading by Giovanna Drummond. Scofield’s Duke isn’t seen often either but also holds a moral tone as the one who must settle things following the tragedy.

The production once more is top notch — with scenes changing with literal military precision: an ensemble of uniformed soldiers marching, dancing or otherwise obscuring incoming or outgoing furniture. Susan Hilferty ’s set lifts Desdemona’s bed above the fray as violence ensues — emphasizing that she may be above it all, but she’s always a central part of it. (Hilferty also did the costumes, which seem generic for any era, save for Field’s jeans).

For being one of Shakespeare’s strongest plays, “Othello” isn’t staged as often as it could be. A production of it as strong as this one may also be as rare.

Running Time : Two hours and 45 minutes with one 15-intermission.

Photo credit : Wendell Pierce and Olivia Cygan in “Othello.” Photo by Teresa Castracane .

"Othello" runs through June 28, 2026, at Shakespeare Theatre Company ’s Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW, Washington D.C. Tickets available online .

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/washington-dc/article/Review-OTHELLO-at-Shakespeare-Theatre-Company-20260601)._