Last night I saw one of the first performances of the new theatre production ‘Desdemona’, directed by Peter Sellars with words by Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison and music by award-winning Malian singer-songwriter Rokia Traoré.
My overall impressions of the production, which gives a voice to Desdemona, the wife of Othello in Shakespeare’s play, were simplicity, beauty, radiance and power. Not just the words, but also the music, the staging, the lighting, everything.
To give you a taster, here are the production's opening words:
My name is Desdemona. The word, Desdemona, means misery. It means ill fated. It means doomed. Perhaps my parents believed or imagined or knew my fortune at the moment of my birth. Perhaps being born a girl gave them all they needed to know of what my life would be like. That it would be subject to the whims of my elders and the control of men. Certainly that was the standard, no, the obligation of females in Venice in the fifteenth century. Men made the rules; women followed them. A step away was doom, indeed, and misery without relief. My parents, keenly aware and approving of that system, could anticipate the future of a girl child accurately.
They were wrong. They knew the system, but they did not know me.
I am not the meaning of a name I did not choose.
They were wrong. They knew the system, but they did not know me.
I am not the meaning of a name I did not choose.
Desdemona is at the KVS theatre in Brussels until Sunday May 29. It will go on to be performed worldwide, including at the Barbican as part of the London 2012 festival during the Olympic Games. To read my published article about the genesis of the show and how it ended up being performed in Brussels, click here.
2 comments:
Anna any idea when and where this will be on in Europe? Having just a) seen an excellent production of Otthello at The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, UK and b) read the article re Desdemona in the SF Chronicle I very much want to see Toni Morrison's play
John, I'm afraid I don't have the schedule for the play but I do know that it is a co-production between the following companies:
Wiener Festwochen, Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers, Cal Performances, Berkeley, California, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, spielzeit'europa I Berliner Festspiele, Barbican, London, Arts Council London & London 2012 Festival
So if you find a location there that suits you, you should be able to find when they're playing at that particular venue.
Hope that's helpful. Anna.
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