Othello (New York Theatre Workshop) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (113)
See it if you can get a ticket.
Don't see it if you don't like Shakespeare or Shakespeare in modern dress.
See it if you want to see two great actors in an intense contemporary staging in an intimate off-Broadway house.
Don't see it if you dislike contemporary stagings of Shakespeare, performed at full length.
See it if WOW
Don't see it if scenes staged in dark places don't interest you
See it if you want to see two superb actors at the top of their game and are thrilled by powerful staging. If you can snag a ticket, don't miss it!
Don't see it if you can't abide by nontraditional staging of Shakespeare.
See it if You love emotional, intense, well acted dramas. You enjoy top acting in an intimate setting. Modern touches help make the time effortless.
Don't see it if you do not like Shakespeare or mixing contemporary staging/costumes with classic dialogue. sometimes difficult to understand speech patterns
See it if you are a fan of the play and want to see it with dynamic actors in a somewhat contemporary setting.
Don't see it if you are impatient with seeing a Shakespearean play that you might not be able to pick up the meaning of everything being said.
See it if Daniel Craig's Iago was masterful; never ever seen better. It was HIS play-others just came through his wickedly crafted world. Memorable~
Don't see it if U prefer traditional Shakespeare. This production took place in army barracks-starting w/a good 5 minutes in the dark! Once in a lifetime~
See it if you can get a ticket - this energetic production is stunning. I hope the talk of a Broadway transfer comes to fruition.
Don't see it if you don't like Shakespeare in a modern setting or you can't handle a 3.5 hour show. Every performances resonates and crackles w/ intensity.
Critic Reviews (36)
"There’s no place to hide in Sam Gold’s mesmerizing production of 'Othello'…The thrill of Gold’s unconventional production lies in its theatrical rawness, providing a platform for the astonishing performances of the two leading actors…Craig morphs from a clever court jester into a merciless killer. It’s a cunning, charismatic performance. Equally charismatic is David Oyelowo…Rarely have I seen two actors share a stage with such generosity and support."
Read more
"Craig's a wonderfully engaging performance, worthy of the hype and the movie star excitement surrounding this production. The rest of the casting is fascinating and diverse, heaving with masculinity and intensity...In Gold’s creation, this 'Othello' powers through, as if on a military charge against the enemy. Its energy is exhilarating. The power lies in the snippets of humanity that weaves their way through."
Read more
"This creative team is spot-on in their collaborative efforts to bring to life Mr. Gold’s progressive rendering, but once this magnificent cast affords the words of this masterpiece, these efforts all but disappear as the emotional execution of the language erupts to consume all the senses...This production manages to involve the audience in the action, immerse them in the emotional content, and deliver the poetic language, while never conceding to phenomenalism."
Read more
"The chief pleasure of Sam Gold’s often bracing, sometimes strangely directed production is watching Daniel Craig hand in a career-defining performance as the malevolent, malicious Iago...Unfortunately, this inventive director too often makes odd, distracting staging choices...Fortunately, Gold trusts his main actors, especially Craig and Oyelowo, and Shakespeare’s text enough of the time that the production is mostly riveting."
Read more
"While this 'Othello' can be uncomfortable and even annoying, it is impossible for me to dismiss Sam Gold’s often startlingly effective production...Beneath Sam Gold’s attention-grabbing choices, in the last of its three hours, we are left with Shakespeare’s words performed by a first-rate cast...It’s natural to focus on the two movie stars, and they deserve the attention. But part of what makes the performances impressive is the way they blend in with the supporting cast."
Read more
"In Oyelowo’s emotive performance, which suggests Othello’s otherness with a slight African accent, there’s a vein of self-loathing that runs fast and wide within him...Oyelowo finds the most to do with the verse, rendering it clearly and lyrically. Most of the rest convey the sense of the language rather than enjoying it, but perhaps that’s what Gold wants...Still, he and his dramaturg, Michael Sexton, find accessibility and humor in the text and there are finely varied performances."
Read more
"Daniel Craig is the highlight...The colorblind casting of Iago’s wife, Emilia (a wonderful Marsha Stephanie Blake) takes away from Othello’s uniqueness...Bianca doesn’t die in the original, so why have all the women murdered?...It seems since Ivo van Hove, it is OK to take away from what a playwright writes, his intent or his meaning, if he is dead and cannot fight back...I just find this so wrong and I stand up for the playwright."
Read more
"Gold has injected Othello and his soldiers with so much testosterone that the stolen handkerchief emerges as just one other reason to beat somebody’s head in. Schall’s direction of the fight scenes leave the audience gasping. It’s all very movie realistic, as are Oyelowo’s many epileptic fits, and he effectively performs the play’s second half as one long mad scene...As insightful as the staging often is, the female characters don’t always make sense in this man’s world."
Read more