Othello @ McCord Museum to Nov. 29.

Created in 2000 Persephone Productions mandate is to provide a quality work experience to young theatre artists. For example, in this production of William Shakespeare's Othello, up-and-coming fashion designer Raina-Clair Gillis gives the costumes her stylized flair, and James Keenan Campbell a first-year McGill student contributes an original music score. Unfortunately this is where most of the ‘quality’ of ‘the experience’ ends for these young artists in this production of the Bard’s classic play of deception and revenge.

To quote Brett Hooton in his preview of this production in the Hour: “With so much budding talent, the production exudes the reckless abandon of youth. If it works, the old play will roar once again. If not, well, mark it down as a learning experience for a cast and crew with bright futures.” The result is…no it does not work. The article in the Hour gives a prelude to the arrogance of the production demonstrated through the Q & A with the production’s lead.

Indeed the costumes are the best part of the Production. However they are lost as the play is staged without decoration and is miss-placed in a space that lends itself to a room with all the ambiance and charm of an unfinished laundry room in an apartment house basement. A difficult enough venue to creatively light, it is either too bright or too dim. A black backdrop curtain set against the cold cement walls contribute nothing to the production that is in much need of some warmth to add to the depth and spirit of the play. The performers are also in serious need of a movement Coach to improve on their body language, with poor posture and dangling arms with no finesse, the actors are lacking in some very basic direction. There is a great very realistic sword-fighting scene in act one and the well-choreographed sequences of Phil Demers continue into act two adding some lively visuals.

There is something obviously amiss with the direction when the reactions of the supporting cast upstage the lead actors delivering their text. The leading roles are lost here on two actors that have absolutely no chemistry. The performance of the character Othello is lack luster and inconsistent, and the mundane portrayal of Desdemona is gravely uncommitted. Both are miss cast and they’re delivery makes for a poor portrayal of these two literary icons. Matthew Raudsepp is a stand out with his interpretation of Cassio. His matinee idle looks and physical presence place him convincingly well in this swashbuckler role. Look to see him in future productions of this genre that is if the call to the big screen doesn’t nab him up first. The most noteworthy performance however is delivered by Christopher Moore as Iago, who is the real star of the production, delivering a stellar performance amongst the otherwise all too static to too ecstatic performances presented by the rest of cast. Moore has all the package of natural talent and stage presence. He is engaging with the charisma required to carry the character through the heavily worded material and endear him to the audience with his conniving yet charming disposition from the moment he first steps on the stage. However, the weight of getting the play through act two is too heavy for even his talented shoulders to carry resulting in the production falling dramatically short of achieving its’ goals.

Ultimately, the production's utter lack of success rests in its’ overall inability to prove to the audience that a 400-year-old play can offer insight into our own current daily lives. The production comes across as a mid-term graduate class studio presentation, not up to par with the company’s mandate, and is overall a tragically missed opportunity to revive this play.

Presented by Persephone Productions, directed by Gabrielle Soskin. @ the McCord Museum until November 29th.
Reservations & info. @ 514 398-7100 #234