OTHELLO Opens at Maynardville this Summer

Artscape's 2015 Shakespeare production at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre will be the tragedy, OTHELLO, a play still as gripping today as it was when it was written 400 years ago.

This summer, Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece OTHELLO comes to life under the stars in the breath-taking natural setting of Cape Town's historic open-air theatre. Jealousy, passion and obsession powerfully combine in this devastating domestic tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, who, betrayed by his close friend Iago, kills his beloved Desdemona. The play is currently being studied as a Grade 12 set work.

OTHELLO is directed by Fred Abrahamse with set and costume designs by Marcel Meyer, lighting design by Faheem Bardien, original music score by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder. Abrahamse and Meyer will bring their celebrated visual flair to this production featuring a company of Cape Town's most exciting young classical actors. The company includes Muntu Ngubane as Othello, Marcel Meyer as Iago, Melissa Haiden as Desdemona, Stephen Jubber as Cassio, Nicole Holm as Emilia, Nicholas Dallas as Roderigo, Faniswa Yisa as Bianca and Spirit of Othello's Mother, Siya Sikawuthi as The Duke of Venice and Montano, Robin Smith as Brabantio and Daniel Richards as Lodovico.

In Maynardville's almost 60 year history, OTHELLO has only been presented three times. The first production was directed by Leonard Schach in 1970 and starred visiting British actor, Bernard Brown as Othello. The play was next staged in 1982 in a highly controversial production starring British acting legend, Sir Robert Stephens as Othello under Roy Sargeant's direction and most recently Keith Grenville's 2001 staging starred British born Nigerian actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim as Othello.

OTHELLO previews on 14, 15 and 16 January (where two tickets will be sold for the price of one) and opens on Saturday, 17 January at 20:15. Discounted family shows are scheduled on 19 and 20 January at 19:15. Full price tickets are R120, 160, R180. Learners and students are invited to attend on 26, 27, 28 January, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11 February at 19:45 Audiences are also invited to celebrate Valentines Day under the stars, when a lucky ticket draw with great prizes to be won will be held. The show will close on 21 February. Weather enquiries can be made one hour prior to performance on 079 742 0107. Picnic hampers can be pre-ordered from Four & Twenty on 021 762 0975 or info@fourandtwentycafe.co.za. Tickets for the show can be booked at Computicket or Artscape-Dial-A-Seat 021 421 7695.

To post a comment, you must register and login.