Othello at the Theatre Royal Haymarket Review: Trust Issues, Toxic Men, and Toby Jones as the OG Traitor
Posted on
**Tom Morris**'s *Othello* takes a classic, unembellished approach — no modern-day updates, no flashy reinventions — just **Shakespeare**’s tragedy set against a minimalistic, gilded backdrop and the slow, inevitable unravelling of trust. The simplicity works: it lets **Shakespeare**’s jealousy-fuelled tragedy do all the talking.
So, what’s going on and [who’s who](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/news/othello-characters-guide)? Set in the 1570s during the conflict between the Christian Republic of Venice and the Muslim Ottoman Empire, Othello, a Moorish general, secretly marries Desdemona. At the heart of the play is Iago – basically a workplace diva, spitting feathers because Othello promoted Cassio over him and now plotting to ruin literally everyone’s lives. Kinda like Regina George from *Mean Girls* calling everyone a whore, but also reminiscent of those dusty middle-aged incels that you so often see lurking in the IG comments these days.
**Toby Jones **plays Iago as the perfect puppet master — manipulative, slippery, Machiavellian and always five steps ahead. He toys with his fellow soldiers like chess pieces, delighting in deception while repeatedly being called “honest Iago” — a phrase that becomes comically ironic. (Drink every time someone calls him honest and you honestly won’t make it to Act Five.) **Jones** plays him as Shakespeare’s OG Traitor — a master manipulator who’d dominate a Jacobean edition of the TV show. I’d put Lady Macbeth and Edmund from King Lear in there too for the lols.
**David Harewood**’s Othello begins composed and authoritative, only to spiral into paranoia with alarming speed. When doubt takes hold, he becomes tunnel-visioned — unable to see any truth beyond Iago’s poison. His transformation from noble general to broken man feels tragic precisely because it happens so fast.
**Caitlin Fitzgerald**’s Desdemona floats through the darkness like she’s wandered in from a yoga retreat — all flowing fabrics and calm grace, equal parts ethereal and **Tilda Swinton** in *The Beach*. Her steadfast ‘But Daddy, I Love Him’ energy makes Othello’s jealous outbursts feel even crueller. **Vinette Robinson**’s Emilia, meanwhile, storms in late and steals the show with her final, furious truth-telling — a “save the best till last” kind of performance.
Love, paranoia, racial prejudice, misogyny, reputation and revenge all burn vividly in **Morris**’s steady-handed production, and it proves how little human nature has evolved. *Othello* might be 400 years old, but weak men still slander innocent women, and insecure ones can be so quickly influenced that a candlewick of jealousy becomes a forest fire. The play captures the ugliness of suspicion and the fragility of love with devastating clarity. And at its centre, **Toby Jones**’s Iago — two-faced, three-faced, maybe even four (clearly a Gemini)— burns brightest as **Shakespeare**’s ultimate traitor.
[*Othello*](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/play/othello-tickets) plays at the [Theatre Royal Haymarket](https://www.londontheatredirect.com/venue/theatre-royal-haymarket-london) until Sat 17th January, book your tickets today.