Othello

Among the world¹s formost interpreters of Shakespeare, The Guthrie Theater brings Shakespeare¹s classic tragedy Othello to the Cutler Majestic Theatre at Emerson College. Under the direction of Joe Dowling, Artistic Director of the Guthrie Theater, this production is the Guthrie’s first national tour in 17 years, as part of the National Endowment for Arts’ Shakespeare in American Communities initiative.

Shakespeare’s reworking of a 16th century Cinthio plot reveals with compelling poetic depth, tragic inevitability and intense dramatic engagement, the ambiguous power and fragility of love, as well as the destructive demons of doubt and suspicion that can be so effectively triggered by a cunning villain. The agony at the center of the tragedy is captured most precisely when Othello admits to Desdemona that “when I love thee not/Chaos is come again.” The play is a tragedy of love misunderstood, trust misplaced, and lives ruined by blatant lies and denigrating fabrications.