
Dartmouth Shakespeare Week 2017
For the fifteenth year in a row, and their sixth as affiliates of the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Inn Theatre Company are once again bringing The Bard to Dartmouth Castle. Every year they bring something slightly different to Shakespeare’s work but always keeping true to the text and, as far as possible, true to the period...apart from the massively successful modern(ish)-dress production of The Merry Wives of Windosr in 2015!
In this anniversary year, they are extremely excited to present one of Will’s most poignant tragedies: Othello; The Moor of Venice.
The company are no strangers to the darker side of the canon, having brought Macbeth, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet to life on the stage at the Castle: but this play presented its own set of unique conundrums that needed to be solved, not least of which was finding a group of actors with the skill and heft to bring these characters to life in a believable, yet entertaining, fashion. No pressure then!
They are more than happy to report that those conundrums have been unraveled and the production is fully cast...and they are delighted to welcome to the Inn Theatre Company fold the magical and charismatic Alphonso Brown as Othello, who leads a cast of local actors who are, quite frankly, phenomenal!
Othello, believed to have been written about 1603, tells the story of Othello, a Moorish general, his beloved wife Desdemona, a trusted and loyal Lieutenant, Michael Cassio and his, ultimately unfaithful, Ensign (known as his Ancient) Iago.
It is a tale of love and trust; courage and loyalty; jealousy, betrayal, revenge and, in the end, repentance.And at the core of the play, a man who, at his centre, is terrifyingly devoid of any emotion whatsoever.
Othello was based upon an earlier story by Cinthio, called Un Capitano Moro, and published in 1565.
Once again the production will be scored, and the music played live, by Ben Malley of Inosnify Ltd, Jess Heywood and Louis Carr, who have all been so vital in the success of previous shows, including The Wives and Romeo and Juliet.
Lighting and sound will, once again, be handled by the powerhouse that is Ben Sinnott, who does such brilliant work so many companies in the South Hams and the design of the whole will be by our very own Jill Brock, who hands her ideas over to Chris, her husband, who somehow puts it all together.
Tickets are on sale from the Dartmouth Visitor Centre or by going to the company’s web-site at: www.theinntheatrecompany.co.uk where you can also find out more about them and their previous productions and what’s happening in the future.