Othello opens on a street in Venice, where lago, an ensign in the Venetian army, is arguing with Roderigo, who paid lago to help him win the beautiful Desdemona's hand in marriage. Rumour has it that Desdemona has secretly married Othello, lago's general, instead. Roderigo is furios. lago confides in him that he, too, hates Othello, because the general promoted Michael Cassio to the position of lieutenant instead of lago himself. Together, the two men decide to reveal the marriage between Othello and Desdemona to her father, Brabanzio. Brabanzio is furious.
Meanwhile, Cassio gives Othello an urgent message that the duke has asked to see him about the imminent Turkish invasion of Cyprus. When Brabanzio learns that Othello will speak to the senate and the duke, he decides to publicly accuse Othello of using witchcraft to trick Desdemona into marrying him. But the plan backfires. Othello explains that Desdemona fell in love with him after he shared his stories of war, triumph, and adventure with her and the duke sympathises with him. Desdemona enters, confirms Othello's story, and announces to her father that her first loyalty now belongs to her husband. Although Brabantio is frustrated and angry, he gives in and allows the senate meeting to continue. The duke tells Othello that he must go to Cyprus to help defend it against the Turkish army, and Desdemona insists she be allowed to come with him. They make plans to depart immediately.
In Cyprus, Othello arrives and announces that there will be a celebration that night to commemorate Cyprus' safety from the Turkish army. After everyone leaves, Roderigo complains to lago that he will never win Desdemona's love now that she is married to Othello. lego promises that Desdemona will soon lose interest in Othello, but suggests that her wandering eye will probably land on Cassio first. lago tells Roderigo that he should besmirch Cassio's reputation by provoking him into a fight at the party that night. That night, lago gets Cassio drunk and then sends Roderigo to start a brawl. When Governor Montano attempts to break up the gith, Cassio stabs him. Othello, who has been in the midst of consummating his new marriage to Desdemona, hears the alarm and arrives on the scene. When Othello demands to know who started the fight, lago pretends that he is reluctant to implicate Cassio, but eventually tells the whole story. Othello strips Cassio of his rank of lieutenant, humiliating him. Cassio is distraught, but lago promises him that he can regain Othello's favour through Desdemona. To the audience, lago describes his plot to convince Othello that Casio and Desdemona have become lovers.
Hoping to reconcile with Othello, Cassio sends musicians to play at Othello's window. Othello, however, is not in a forgiving mood so Cssio speaks with Desdemona who is very sympathetic to his plight, and promises to take to Othello on his behalf. Just before Cassio leaves, however, Othello and lago return. Still ashamed about his drunken behavior at the party, Cassio leaves without speaking to Othello. Othello asks if the man who left was Cassio, and lago replies that he couldn't imagine that Cassio would ever sneak away so guiltily. Othello becomes upset, and lago takes advantage of Othello's mood by suggesting that Cassio and Desdemona might be having an affair. Othello's new suspicions are only enforced by Desdemona's pleas that Cassio be reinstated to his former position as lieutenant. When Desdemona tries to make Othello feel better by wrapping her handkerchief around his head, he brushes the cloth away, letting it drop to the floor. After Desdemona and Othello leaves, Emilia picks up the handkerchief around his head, he brushes that cloth away, letting it drop to the floor. After Desdemona and Othello leaves, Emilia picks up the handkerchief. She tells the audience that lago has been asking her to steal it for him.
Iago is thrilled when Emilia gives him the handkerchief, and he secretly puts it in Cassio's room as evidence that he and Desdemona are having an affair. When Othello demands visual proof of Desdemona's unfaithfulness, Iago tells him that he saw Cassio wipe his beard with Desdemona's handkerchief, which was the first gift Othello ever gave her. Othello, enraged, vows to take revenge on Cassio and Desdemona. Iago vows to help him. When Othello sees Desdemona later that night, he demands to see the handkerchief, but she tells him that she doesn't have it with her. She tries to change the subject by once again pleading with Othello to reinstate Cassio. This pushes Othello over the edge, and he leaves in a rage. Meanwhile, Cassio wonders about the handkerchief he has just found in his room. He asks Bianca, his prostitute friend, to copy the handkerchief's embroidered pattern for him.
Othello is so consumed with anger and jealousy that he falls into an epileptic fit. After Othello recovers, Iago tells him about the meeting he has planned with Cassio. As Othello hides nearly, Iago asks Cassio about Bianca - but Othello thinks they're talking about Desdemona. When Cassio laughs, Othello believes his suspicions about the affair have been confirmed. Bianca then enters, furious with Cassio for making her copy the embroidery of a token that he received from another lover. Finally, Desdemona enters with a letter ordering Othello to return to Venice and install Cassio as his replacement in Cyprus. Othello, livid with rage, hits Desdemona and leaves.
That night, Othello accuses Desdemona of being is a whore. Desdemona, echoed by Emilia, insists that she is innocent, but Othello ignores them. Iago assured Desdemona that Othello is simply overwhelmed with stress about political affairs, but later that night Otello ominously orders Desdemona to wait for him in bed alone. Meanwhile, Iago tells Roderigo (who is still in love with Desdemona) that in order to prevent Othello and Desdemona to return to Venice, he must kill Cassio.
Roderigo's attempt to kill Cassio fails, however, and Roderigo is wounded. In the ensuing commotion, Iago himself wounds Cassio instead. When Othello hears Cassio cry out, he assumes Iago killed Cassio as he promised. Lodovico and Graziano hear the struggle and enter to find Roderigo and Cassio both wounded. Iago then appears, pretends to be shocked at the discovery, and murder of Roderigo for attacking Cassio. Cassio is taken away for medical attention.
Meanwhile, Othello stands over Desdemona, preparing himself to kill her. Desdemona wakes, and pleads with her husband to spare her life. He ignores her pleas, and smothers her in bed. Emilia confronts Othello, and he says that he murdered Desdemona for the infidelity that Iago told him about.
Graziano, Montano, and Iago come into the room. Emilia, horrified, realises what Iago has done. Othello insists that Iaso was telling him the truth, citing the handkerchief as proof. A distraught Emilia tells Othello that she gave the handkerchief to Iago. Othello begins to weep and attempts to kill Iago, but he is disarmed. Iago kills Emilia and then attempts to flee, but is captured by Lodovico and Montano. Lodovico tells Othello that he must return to Venice to stand trial for Desdemona's murder, but Othello commits suicide instead. The play closes with Lodovico ordering Iago's execution.
Director: Bruce Guthrie
Production Designer: Robin Don
Lighting Designer: Rick Fisher
Sound Designer: Mike Walker
Composer: Ruth Ling
Fight Choreographer: Lim Yu Beng
Projection Designer: Andrzej Goulding
Cast:
Shane Mardjuki
Daniel Jenkins
Gerald Chew
Daniel Francis
Stephen Whiley
Marcus Lim
Marc Valentine
Andy Tear
Erwin Shah Ismail
Wendy Kweh
Zura Johnson
Julie Wee
Ensemble:
Vignesh Singh
Raphael Lecat
Riley Huang
Shrey Bhargava
Prabu Devaraj
Deborah Lee
Tamanna Sushil Daswani
Vanessa Koh
Tarushka Wijeyawardena
Clancy Jessica Ryan
Lareina Tham
Directing Assistant: Natalie Wong
Vocal Coach: Susan Tordoff
Technical Consultant: Marc Andre Therrien
Assistant Lighting Designer: Gabriel Chan
Hair & Wigs: Ashley Lim
Makeup: Bobbie Ng
Stage Manager: Lu Huen
Assistant Stage Managers: Carolene Liew, Suan Yip Ling
Stage Managerment Intern: Geraldine Ang
Production Assistants: Stephanie Kwok, Sandhya Silva
Scenic Artist: Natalie Chung
Props Supervisor: Jed Lim
Props Assistant: Jaclyn Tan
Props Intern: Nurfarah Hani
Costume Supervisor: Penn O' Gara
Wardrobe Consultant: Engie Ho
Wardrobe Managers: Jessica Hutchinson, Joan Tan
Dressers: Melissa Aslim, Dawn Chang, Nur Jan Shah, Klaire Tan
Sound Operator: Sarah Sum
Video Programmer: Low Wee Cheng
Video Operator: Celeste Yeo
(Source: Singapore Repertory Theatre Programme)