Almost four decades ago, Othello was staged at the Market Theatre with John Kani in the title role (directed by Janet Suzman), upsetting the racist authorities and becoming a famous example of “Shakespeare against apartheid”. Now a new production of the play at the Baxter Theatre, directed by Lara Foot and starring Kani’s son Atandwa, promises to be another landmark South African Othello.
Atandwa Kani as Othello (photo: Fiona Macpherson)
Carla Smith as Desdemona, Atandwa Kani as Othello (photo: Fiona MacPherson)
This version of Othello made its debut at the Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus in September last year, earning Foot the Gustaf Theatre Award 2023 for Outstanding Artistic Achievement. Performed in English, isiXhosa and Afrikaans, the adaptation focuses on Othello’s inner life but also emphasises political and historical context: in this case, the period of the Herero uprising in the German colony of South West Africa (present-day Namibia).
Atandwa Kani as Othello, Albert Pretorius as Iago (photo: Fiona MacPherson)
Alongside Atandwa Kani, the cast members are: Carla Smith as Desdemona, Albert Pretorius as Iago, Fansiwa Yisa as Emilia, Carlo Daniels as Cassio, Wessel Pretorius as Roderigo, Morne Visser as Brabantio, Lyle October as Montano and Tamzin Williams as Bianca, with Awethu Hleli, Brendon Sean Murray, Nolufefe Ntshuntshe and Caleb Swanepoel in various roles. Foot’s formidable creative team includes Gerhard Marx (design), Kyle Shepherd (music) and Patrick Curtis (lighting).
Professor Shose Kessi, Dean of Humanities at the University of Cape Town, has called this production “an ambitious and provocative decolonial interpretation” of Shakespeare’s play that “fits into an emerging body of work that seeks to not only disrupt the centrality of Shakespeare and western literature in contemporary spaces but also to resist Eurocentric readings of the colonial past. It highlights the role of theatre as both a political instrument to challenge colonial violence and a possible site for decolonial love.”
Atandwa Kani as Othello, Carla Smith as Desdemona (photo: Fiona MacPherson)
Fansiwa Yisa as Emelia, Albert Pretorius as Iago (photo: Fiona Macpherson)
Othello runs at the Pam Golding Theatre at the Baxter from 6 April to 4 May 2024. Performances are at 7.30pm, Mondays to Fridays, with Saturday matinees at 2pm and weekday schools’ performances at 11am. Booking is through Webtickets or at Pick n Pay stores. Discounted block bookings for schools and other groups can be made with Carmen Kearns (carmen.kearns@uct.ac.za / 021 680 3993) or Mark Dobson (mark.dobson@uct.ac.za / 021 680 3972).