Othello
Audio described performance: 17th November 2025 at 7.30pm.
Sexy chick falls for hunky soldier, best friend stitches them up.
Bill the Quill thrill with David Harewood, Toby Jones and Caitlin FitzGerald making up the triangle, and music by PJ Harvey. Tom “War Horse” Morris directs.
Othello
Offer expires: Mon, 8th December 2025
Book between: Fri, 4th October 2024 and Mon, 15th December 2025
Buy best available premium price £125, top non-premium price £99, second price £75, third price £65, fourth price £50, sixth price £35 or seventh price £25 seats (from agency / offer allocation) WITH NO BOOKING FEES each at all Monday to Thursday performances ONLY. This makes the offer cheaper than buying from any source except in person at the theatre box office.
Original ticket prices may vary by performance, and some prices are not available on all dates, the system will advise at time of enquiry.
Seats at second price are in the rear stalls (ground level, circle overhang in view) or rear (circle overhang in view) or side restricted view dress circle (first tier). Third to sixth price seats are in the rear stalls, restricted view dress circle or upper circle (second tier, second highest in venue, may have limited legroom and / or a restricted view). Seventh price seats are in the balcony (bench seating, limited width, legroom and view). Seat information. Please do not purchase if this is not acceptable to you.
Some "peak dates" are excluded - including 04th November 2025 - the system will advise at time of enquiry.
Ticket selection is from agency's allocation. Subject to allocation availability, change, withdrawal and agency discretion.
(seen at the afternoon preview performance on 1st November 2025)
If the monkey is honest, nothing has ever topped its 4-hour long video of Trevor Nunn’s 1989 Royal Shakespeare Company effort with Willard White, Ian McKellen and Imogen Stubbs. Intellectual and intense, as the RSC tends to be.
This runs it pretty close for the opposite reasons. Pure entertainment, played for clarity and not reverence. Director Tom Morris makes highly effective use of Bill The Quill’s inbuilt summaries he likes to unleash every few scenes, which allowed (and allows still) those less familiar with the play to keep up.
And keep up this young audience did at this performance. Toby Jones as Iago provides a bravura performance as guide, confidant and the focus of mounting evil.
We know what this sleazy creep would be watching on his laptop if he had one; his short stature in military uniform alone giving him reason for developing an edge of bitter resentment - spilling over into Machiavellian machinations leading to a shocking end. Why does he do it? He's just made that way. It is enough.
Beautiful contrast is given by Caitlin Fitzgerald as a strong yet powerless Desdemona. Her intimacy with attendant (and Iago’s poor wife) Emilia (Vinette Robinson) is a sad and moving pairing – sexism and survival a potent mix bringing out the best in both performances.
David Harewood as Othello appears to still be feeling his way through the role. Some scenes are already calibrated perfectly. Others he knows where to grasp, but is still adjusting his grip. A few he is clearly experimenting with and will not settle until he knows he has found precisely what he is seeking.
To bring a gasping shudder from the audience as he ends his wife’s life is for the moment achievement enough – but the monkey knows by the end of this run, Harewood will be a Colossus unstoppable.
Excellent work from betrayed Luke Treadaway makes Cassio more than just an uncalculating man to watch (pun intended – you’re fired, editor). Treadaway brings a depth and heart to the role, working with Roe Riley as Bianca to show us the lonely reality of impermanent soldier’s life.
Notes too for Tom Byrne as a trapped Roderigo, too late realising escape is impossible, and Peter Guinness as an opinionated Brabantio.
Oddly, Ti Green provides a rather ugly set design. All austere metals and angles, the only softness one bed. Arches vanish never to be seen again, the murder scene feels like a peepshow with lights trained on a low bed. Perhaps intentional, but a little odd. Still, add PJ Harvey’s menacing music and it works.
We must count ourselves fortunate that the West End has producers who still wish to present Shakespeare purely as entertainment. Subsidised companies with their educational and preservation remit have their place, a vital one.
Bill the Quill's plays were written to entertain, and when an opportunity like this comes along, it is to be cherished. Take money from your purse and go.
All that glitters is not gold. Stunning set, excellent lighting, good performances and a rather humdrum production. For me the main problem is the play itself. It goes on and on. Running at 2 hours 45 minutes and often very repetitive, could have lost at least 35 minutes off the running time. We are told by various characters that Iago is an honest man, in fact so often that it began to draw laughter from the audience and don't start me on the number of times we hear about the scarf Othello gifted to Desdemona. If you are a fan of PJ Harvey don't book to hear their music. It's almost non-existent.
2.5 stars
Taljaard
The monkey advises checking performance times on your tickets and that performances are happening as scheduled, before travelling.
| Run Time: | 2 hours 45 minutes, including one interval |
| Monday: | 7.30pm |
| Tuesday: | 7.30pm |
| Wednesday: | 7.30pm |
| Thursday: | 2.30pm, 7.30pm |
| Friday: | 7.30pm |
| Saturday: | 2.30pm, 7.30pm |
| Sunday: | X |
Venue Box Office & Current Prices
020 7930 8800Venue box office details and show price charts are available on the Theatre Royal, Haymarket page.
Address: 18 Suffolk Street, London, SW1Y 4HT
Box Office: 020 7930 8800
More details: Seats to buy or avoid at this venue plus travel information and other details can be found on the Theatre Royal, Haymarket page
