OTHELLO

About the show

ITA's critically acclaimed Othello, directed by Ivo van Hove, premiered on 1 February 2003 at the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam. To accentuate Othello’s Arabic roots, translator Hafid Bouazza added Arabic poetry to the monologues. In his masterpiece of revenge, Shakespeare unflinchingly contrasts the malicious villain Iago with the honest and principled hero of the play’s title, and in the process delivers some of the most electrifying and exquisite language in the canon. Othello’s consuming passion for his wife Desdemona descends into paranoia as Iago uses language as a weapon for intimate destruction, sowing the insidious seeds for the tragic hero’s fall. Director Ivo van Hove asked Hafid Bouazza (1970) for a new translation of the play. Van Hove chose the Dutch-Moroccan writer because of the missing element of xenophobia in existing translations. Bouazza translated the dialogues prose style but used a more lyric tone for the monologues. To accentuate Othello’s Arabic roots he added Arabic poetry to the monologues. ‘His Arabian roots are plenty alluded to in the original writings. He speaks of the moon, which is an Arabian symbol for a woman of beauty, Desdemona in this case. Another important theme is that of lover versus fighter, a common element of Arabian literature. The handkerchief that Othello presents to Desdemona, too, stems from Arabian practise. It represents honour, which explains Othello’s anger when his wife loses it. However, Western culture, too, is a source of trouble for the Moor. As an outsider, he cannot comprehend all the goings-on. This uncertainty is eagerly abused by Iago.’