The following are performances clips and discussions from Act 3 Scene 3, and Act 4 Scene 3 of Othello, the 2015 Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank production.
Act 3, Scene 3
'O, beware my lord of jealousy./It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock/The meat it feeds on.'
Iago begins to turn Othello against the 'worthy' Cassio and Desdemona. Suggesting the two have been engaging in an affair, Iago compels Othello to 'Look to [his] wife; observe her well with Cassio'.
Scene
(Your students can access this video at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDK7T-CEJyg)
Analysis
(Your students can access this video at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfG9k75dn3k)
Topics in this interview:
0min 8 - Othello's character
0min 49 - Iago's character
1min 50 - What drives Iago to wreak such damage?
2min 50 - Does Othello feel he is accepted in Venetian society?
3min 46 - Why is Iago so successful?
4min 37 - What are Othello's failings?
6min 15 - How does Iago view women?
7min 30 - How does Othello view women?
8min 41 - What is the audience supposed to feel during this scene?
Act 4, Scene 3
'If I do die before thee, prithee, shroud me/In one of those same sheets...'
Emilia helps Desdemona prepare herself for bed. An anxious Desdemona sings and talks to Emilia about cuckoldry and the state of women. Emilia jokingly muses on the topic, concluding thus: 'Then let them use us well, else let them know:/The ills we do, their ills instruct us so'.
Scene
(Your students can access this video at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRMZCC-tsSM)
Analysis
(Your students can access this video at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgkSbji17_Q)
Topics in this interview:
0min 8 - Desdemona's character
1min 41 - Emilia's character
10min 9 - What unites and separates them?
14min 40 - What role does the Willow song play?