Why could Othello not believe in Desdemona's fidelity, even though she loved and trusted him blindly? The causes were deep-rooted in his psyche, boring into his soul regardless of what his senses should have told him.
This central conundrum, as pertinent now as in 1604 when Shakespeare penned "Othello, the Moor of Venice," is just one of the many facets of the human condition eloquently explored by the Royal Shakespeare Company in its fresh staging of the Bard's great tragedy.
A deep, dark "zummmm" resonating ominously through Le Ginza Theatre signals the start of the play, as the curtains open to reveal a pared-down set -- the Venetian encampment in war-torn Cyprus surrounded by wire and corrugated iron fences, with just a glimpse of rocky Mediterranean moorland behind, bathed in the evening light. Actors step onstage wearing dresses, suits or military uniforms that feel just slightly out of date. It is, perhaps, the 1950s.