As a big fan of The Wire, the chance to see Jimmy McNulty take on Lester Freamon in the Crucible's recently concluded production of Othello was one I couldn't miss. But much as Lester was my favourite character in that show and Clarke Peters' Othello was convincingly regal, it was Dominic West's Iago who stole this show, bringing a much-needed levity to one of Shakespeare's darkest tragedies.
The Wire gave us ample evidence that nobody plays the lovable rogue as well as Dominic West, an actor who even managed to make serial killer Fred West frighteningly likable in ITV's recent drama, Appropriate Adult. Those two roles also demonstrated West's versatile voice: from a pitch perfect Irish Baltimore cop to a demonically charming West Country bumpkin-psychopath (not to mention his public school RP 50s newsreader in The Hour): this guy does accents better than most. Back in his native Sheffield though, West chose to play Iago for the hometown crowd as a conniving Yorkshireman. This was Iago for the Full Monty generation, a hilarious portrayal that won the audience's affiliation early on, leaving little sympathy for Othello. It didn't help that Peters chose to distance the Moor further by playing him as an increasingly pompous Spanish Jack Sparrow, with an accent straight off the Fast Show's Chanel Neus. It may just be my poor hearing, but many key lines were lost to the acento.
Nevertheless, this was still a powerful and hugely entertaining performance. Strong support was given by Alexandra Gilbreath as Iago's conflicted wife, Emilia, and Lily James as Desdemona. Thanks to West, this was one of the funniest Shakespeares I've ever seen, showing just how much room for interpretation there is in these texts. That said, I was left wondering if a better title for this production might actually have been 'Iago'. Everybody loves a rotter.
