Shakespeare
staging the world

When I was studying at university I was lucky enough to attend a workshop led by Barrie Rutter, the Artistic Director of Northern Broadsides. He was working with Lenny Henry on a scene from Othello, a part which Henry would later play for the company. However, this was the first time he had worked with the text and also the first time he had tried his hand at Shakespeare. In the scene, Othello accuses Desdemona of duplicity, before uttering the famous line “Sir, she can turn, and turn, and yet go on”. Watching an actor and director working with Shakespeare’s words, and bringing  a physical dimension to the text, was absolutely electrifying. As Lenny Henry took on the role he changed the way he approached the actress playing Desdemona, eventually grabbing her and spinning her around as he spoke the line. Shakespeare’s words have a special power which is released when they are performed, and watching an actor discover the action behind the language was a wonderful experience.

Becky Allen, London