Brisbane Festival: Shakespeare’s Othello comes to the Torres Strait

Messing around with Shakespeare can sometimes dilute the brand but Queensland Theatre’s Othello set in the Torres Strait is a gambit that turns out to be a stroke of genius

Jimi Bani playing Othello in the his own adaptation of the Shakespeare play. Picture: Supplied.

I had no idea William Shakespeare had visited the Torres Strait. Well he must have, because he set Othello there. Didn’t he? Oh, wait a minute... I get it, Queensland Theatre decided to use a Queensland location because they have Queensland in their name.

How utterly parochial.

How utterly brilliant.

While it’s not perfect, Queensland Theatre’s Othello is a success and a compelling night in the theatre, not to mention a Brisbane Festival highlight.

I mean, they’re cheating a bit though, aren’t they, putting on Shakespeare, because it’s a given that you’ll want to see it.

The more Shakespeare we get the better, as far as I am concerned.

In dietary terms Shakespeare is fibre. It’s like Metamucil for the mind. You sit there drinking in the words, knowing they are good for you.

And director Jason Klarwein and his cast haven’t messed with those words.

But the cast – which includes a troupe from the Torres Strait led by leading man Jimi Bani as Othello – does insinuate its own local language into the piece in such a clever, engaging and seamless fashion.

Actor Jimi Bani. director Jason Klarwein and Emily Burton. Picture: Renae Droop

Using the Torres Strait and Cairns locations works well.

The time is the 1940s, and that’s an excuse for some gratuitous playing of 1940s big band music and crooning, and it was wonderful to start our evening coming into the theatre listening to the Andrews Sisters.

There is some music during the play too, music inherent to it (Desdemona’s The Willow Song) and some Torres Strait music and drumming, and even the most incredible dance scene that adds the wow factor to the production – incredible stuff.

This adaptation, a collaboration between Bani and Klarwein, is respectful to the Bard and a tribute to the Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion and the 800 Torres Strait Islander men who volunteered to protect the northern tip of Australia during World War II.

And since Othello is about military men, that works well.

Doomed lovers Desdemona (Emily Burton) and Othello (Jimi Bani)

Opening night had quite a few members of the Torres Strait Islander community in the house, and there was a lot of hooting and hollering going on, which might not happen every night.

It was kind of fun though, and the actors enjoyed it and injected some comedy into the show to play to the crowd. That didn’t detract at all from the inherent drama.

And what a drama it is. To recap, things are set in motion when Othello, a heroic black general in the service of Venice, appoints Cassio and not Iago as his chief lieutenant.

Jealous of Othello‘s success and envious of Cassio, Iago plots Othello’s downfall by falsely implicating Othello’s wife Desdemona and Cassio in a love affair.

The result is beyond tragic, and leads to a powerful and unsettling finale. OMG what an ending!

Jimi Bani’s performance is a powerhouse one, and he channels Othello and he knows when to amuse and when to be deadly serious.

He has the most amazing stage presence and is the core of this wonderful adaptation.

They got jiggy with it in Othello by Queensland Theatre.

Mind you, everyone is terrific. There’s Richard Bani as Montano, Andrew Buchanan as Iago, Desdemona is Emily Burton, Eugene Gilfedder is her father Brabantio, Benjin Maza is Cassio (what energy he has), Sara Hogden is Emilia, Matt McInally is Rodrigo, Tia-Shonte Southwoods is Bianca, and the soldiers (they dance too) are played by Conwell Bani and Gabriel Bani, and yes they are all related. Nice.

The lieutenant-colonel was to be played by Kevin Hides on opening night on Friday, but he was ill, so director Jason Klarwein stood in for him.

Klarwein is a Shakespearean expert as a director, and a fine Shakespearean actor himself, and did a wonderful job. It was nice to see him up there.

Andrew Buchanan, one of our most experienced thespians, is also a Shakespeare man, and he is riveting as the scheming Iago. What a bastard! I hated him on the night, which is as it should be.

Emily Burton was terrific as Desdemona, whose final scene is just so heartbreaking, and she creates a visceral experience for us.

Together they form a cohesive whole, and a palatable vehicle for the amazing and nutritious words of the Bard. You just eat this stuff up with a spoon, and at the end you are still hungry for more. And like I said, this stuff is good for you.

Shakespeare is good for your heart, your mind and your soul. So get yourself a dose soon.

Othello is on at the Bille Brown Theatre until October 1