by Mrs H. SmithA lively party of sixth form and staff and friends set off for London on 7th December to see the highly acclaimed production of “Othello” through which Lenny Henry had won an award for best newcomer to the London stage. Most of the students had recently studied the play so were keen to observe the director’s interpretation of various speeches and scenes; most of the rest of us were interested in seeing how Lenny performed.The theatre was the first revelation. Not one with which most of us were familiar, it was small and with raked seating giving quite an intimate feel, highly appropriate for such a “domestic” tragedy, where Iago uses the claustrophobic atmosphere of Cyprus to manipulate the mind of Othello. There was so much that was good about the production; a brilliant use of lighting and shadows to accentuate the evil of Iago; a sensational performance by the actor playing Iago, creating a character reminiscent of The Joker in the Batman films, his sinister laughter lingering at the end; a petite Desdemona who looked as if she could be crushed by her giant of a husband; and a hilarious drinking scene in which Iago skilfully gets Cassio drunk to kick off his terrible revenge. Roderigo, a rather insubstantial character in the text, came to life and we felt saddened at his death. There were even some funny bits.So what about Lenny Henry? His journey to the London stage started about a year ago when he made some programmes for Radio 4 in which he set out to discover Shakespeare who had always been a mystery to him. He had never understood the language nor spoken it. He visited voice coaches and experts, one thing led to another, and it was suggested that he had a go at the part of Othello, obviously, and the play was performed at the Yorkshire Playhouse. It was such a success that the run was extended and then it came to the West End. While of course Lenny Henry is not the equal of an RSC actor, his performance was still very impressive. He has extraordinary presence on the stage, being a much larger man in the flesh than any of us had realised, dominating his tiny wife both with the power of his love and then with the power of his violence. Although some students complained rather pedantically that he swallowed some lines, he nevertheless held the stage and moved us with his tragedy, as the play progresses inexorably to the inevitable consequences of Iago’s terrible cruelty. The cast’s pleasure in their performance and in the audience’s enthusiastic reaction was a delight to see.It was also a great pleasure to take so many staff from disciplines other than English and to share with them our love of Shakespeare. Thank you to everyone who came.