Iago takes his most villainous revenge – by stealing the show

Dominic West reiterates the point violently and with muscularity in this production, in which his Iago demands the audience’s attention and commands the stage.

Iago is sometimes a sneaky, insidious character who wanders around the action whispering in ears, planting seeds that will grow to the tragic downfall of the great, black soldier Othello. West is far too physical a presence to go for sneaking about and instead stomps and shouts his manipulations, conducting the action like he is leading an orchestra with abandoned frenzy.

Director Daniel Evans has West perform his Iago with a Yorkshire accent which brings a beautiful musical edge to the language, but at times allows him to talk rough and dirty, too. West speaks the lines as though they were crafted yesterday, such is his skill at bending, shaping and breathing new life into them. It also brings out a surprising amount of comedy buried in the script.

By making him earthy, rooted, West also gives Iago a real motivation for his actions. It can be easy to think Iago simply the embodiment of evil, playing with the lives of the people around him for no reason other than sport. In this production of Shakespeare’s most domestic tragedy, the reason for Iago’s plotting and machinations is clearer – he suspects the “black ram” of having done Iago’s “office twixt my sheets”. Jealous of Othello’s stature, yes, but Iago is out for revenge on the general because he suspects he has slept with his wife. West and director Evans, by drawing this out, give this Iago a reason for his actions which allows the audience a way in.

Which brings us to the other reason the Crucible was packed to the rafters at Tuesday’s premiere.Iago’s Othello is played by Clarke Peters, who appeared alongside West in the cult show The Wire. The chemistry they shared on screen, it was hoped, would be replicated on stage.

It is.

The arrival of Peters’ great warrior Othello is wonderful. Grey of beard, he has the gravitas to make us believe men would follow him into battle. He is a storyteller who you could well accept a young Desdemona would fall in love with. The African accent he uses emphasises the Moor’s “otherness” to the polite Venetian society in which he lives.

The pivotal moment when Iago finally breaches the defences of Othello’s calm exterior and makes him question his chaste, young wife is beautifully done, revealing that, far from Shakespeare’s earlier supposition, frailty’s name is actually “man”.

From that poignantly-performed moment, however, Peters loses his way.

The madness that consumes his Othello makes him bark his lines, losing the language as much as West discovers it. Physically unimposing, when he loses his composure it is hard to imagine him a seasoned soldier. When he boasts he has made his way through 20 men with one arm, it is difficult to accept. Had he spoken his lines with the same, calm authority he had before Iago twisted his mind, it would have been easier to believe.

The actors around these two give a good account – Alexandra Gilbreath is a layered Emilia and Gwilym Lee’s Casio and Brodie Ross’s Roderigo excellent foils. But this production is built around West’s Iago, in a performance that convinces you Shakespeare would have renamed this play.

To Oct 15. 0114 2496000.