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A creative and exciting production of Shakespeare’s Othello — set in Brazil prior to the start of the 1964 military dictatorship — will be performed in April at South Mountain Community College.
The innovative production will include a “movement chorus” of dancers performing choreography based in ritual dance from the Afro-Brazilian Candomble religion.
Othello is a tale of revenge and passion, explains Director Laurelann Porter. “What better setting for that than Brazil in 1964, right before the military deposed the president and took power. The history of Brazil is rife with passionate stories, vengeful stories, and stories of the kinds of racial tensions of a country that resisted democracy in the 20th century just as much as it resisted abolishing slavery 100 years previously,” she said.
In Shakespeare’s famous drama, Iago is passed up for a promotion by his “trusted” friend Othello. He executes his revenge in a cold, calculating manner. The interracial marriage between Othello and Desdemona promises at first to be an omen of positive change. But Iago, in his revenge, turns it into a hotbed of suspicion, jealousy, and the most famous of all domestic violence scenes – the smothering of Desdemona at the hands of her own husband.
With a chorus of ritual movement from Brazilian Candomble dances, this version of Othello places the violence, revenge and passion in the midst of forces of nature that remind us we are all capable of all things – be they good or evil.
Performance dates are April 17, 18, and 19 at 7:30 p.m. and April 20 at 2 p.m. in Performance Hall of the college, 7050 S. 24th St. (just north of Baseline Rd.). Cost is $10 and tickets are available at Showup.com.