Othello and the Unknown Military

摘要

It began with an e-mail. Nick Hytner, director of the National Theatre, was about to put on a production of Othello, a play set in the context of a general running a garrison, and he wanted to speak to someone who had done so to know what it was like. Mutual friends put us in touch and the ensuing lunch quickly dealt with the expected questions. But what really caught Hytner's imagination were my observations about the psychological pressures on the characters, both Iago and, particularly, the commissioned-from-the-ranks general Othello. So he set me up for a meeting with Adrian Lester, who plays the title role, to explore these dynamics.