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Iago Speaks

 
Mark Harding Review by Mark Harding 3 Published: 10 Aug 2025 theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall Show Dates: 1 Aug 2025-23 Aug 2025

The setting is a Shakespearean gaol, furnished with period props. Iago sits alone in his cell. Enter the gaoler, stage left. He’s one of the Identikit minor characters that inhabit Shakespeare’s plays – usually a clown – ill-educated and a bit dim. True to type, the gaoler treats us to some decent physical clowning and a bunch of jokes that are much funnier than Shakespeare’s tend to be.

Can the gaoler’s babbling drive Iago to such distraction that he speaks?

The gaoler is troubled that he has no memories other than the daily routine of tending to Iago and a hazy recall of a few events from Shakespeare’s plays. And he’s very bored. He wants a purpose: a drama.

The gaoler quotes Iago’s last line from Othello: “From this time forth I never will speak word.” Can the gaoler’s babbling drive Iago to such distraction that he speaks?

At more than an hour, the play could benefit from a little trimming – there are moments where the material feels stretched too thin. It is obviously reminiscent of Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, but it lacks the equivalent meditations on eternity, infinity, and death. On the other hand, it does feature exciting fight choreography.

The actors’ accents (Skye Brandon as Iago and Joshua Beaudry as the gaoler) sometimes drift between “Shakespearean” and modern Canadian, and some of the phrases used sound jarringly contemporary. In the context of this play, these aspects are important.

Interestingly, in a key area, the gaoler has greater perception than the “evil genius” Iago. We know there is going to be a denouement, but who will win?

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The Blurb:

At first glance, Iago Speaks appears to follow the events immediately after Shakespeare's Othello. But this meta-theatrical, comedic romp quickly turns, introducing us to Iago’s hapless jailer, always landing in Shakespeare plays, but with no lines. His quest, as he languishes by Iago’s dungeon cell, is to discover the true purpose for his life, and – ultimately – theatre. A classic comedy duo, Iago and his jailer descend into a mad adventure, its ultimate purpose only revealed at the end. The play is boundless, ridiculous and constantly winking at the audience and yet, manages to make us think.