Shakespeare in the Park

Last Thursday, I saw a free production of Othello at Griffith Park. Not only was the performance free, but the parking was free, too (no small thing to an Angeleno). The play is part of the annual Shakespeare Festival put on by the Independent Shakespeare Co. Previously held at Barnsdall Park, Othello marked the festival’s debut at Griffith Park.

Somehow, throughout my entire English-major career and Shakespeare-loving existence, I have never read Othello or seen it performed live. My only contact with the play (I cringe to admit this) was the teen-oriented “adaptation” O. I have no defense for myself except this: I thought Josh Hartnett was the hottest thing ever.

Unsurprisingly, the ISC’s production of the original play was much better. My favorite performance was David Melville, who played Iago and who also happens to be a co-founder of the ISC. I’ve always thought of Iago as this really evil guy, but Melville’s Iago seemed more light-hearted than I expected. Sure, he’s still jealous, scheming, and manipulative, but hardly sinister, many times playing lines for laughs (though he earned plenty of good-natured “boos” from the audience along the way). Still, I enjoyed Melville’s performance a lot and am excited to see him play Benedick in the company’s production of Much Ado About Nothing (one of my favorite Shakespeare plays) in August.

Performances are at 7 pm, Thursdays through Sundays. Othello will be playing until August 1st and Much Ado begins August 5th.