It seems the theater scene in Over-the-Rhine has settled on early- to mid-March as a time to uniformly confront uncomfortable topics. At Know Theatre of Cincinnati, “Kill Move Paradise” tackles issues related to the Black Lives Matter Movement. At Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, “Red Velvet” tells the story of the first actor of color to portray Othello on the English stage. At Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, they’ve recontextualized “Othello” itself, resulting in a production that reveals hard truths about our cultural moment and prods the audience toward awareness.

The story of “Othello” is driven by a conflict between Venice and the Ottoman Empire. In this production, that conflict is littered with visual clues suggesting certain U.S. entanglements in the Middle East. In the prologue, masked special forces operatives stalk a dusty, desert urban area before finding and shooting an enemy soldier wearing a keffiyeh. Later, conversations between high-level aristocrats are held via a cleverly implemented video chat, allowing Brian Isaac Phillips (absent from the theater while working on Ensemble’s “Red Velvet”) to appear, as well as ensemble member Sara Clark, giving her the unique distinction of appearing simultaneously on the stage and in the audience. 

“Othello” begins with the eponymous character, a Moorish general in the Venetian army, having secretly married the daughter of a senator. Her former suitor, Roderigo (played with characteristic charm by Billy Chace) complains to his friend Iago, who is held in high esteem by Othello (William Oliver Watkins). Nicholas Rose plays Iago with a folksy, Kentucky accent, which turns out to be a stroke of genius. It plays into certain stereotypes about the way people talk, which makes it easy to assume he is trying his best to be honest and helpful but simply can’t help but get things wrong once in a while, the poor bumpkin. It’s disarming, then, when he drops the facade during a soliloquy with a bone-chilling delivery of the line, “I hate the Moor.”

From that moment, Iago becomes terrifying. The character is often played as though the audience is in on the scheme — after all, Iago articulates exactly what he plans to do. But Rose’s Iago is not a winking, love-to-hate villain. When he speaks to us, it’s almost as though every line is punctuated with the unspoken phrase, “What are you going to do about it?” Terrible things are going to happen. Iago is putting them into motion, and no one knows enough to stop him. It gives the character incredible power, both on and off the stage.

Othello’s wife, Desdemona (Courtney Lucien), serves an even more important purpose now than perhaps at any other time. She is, in effect, the ideal woman for an Elizabethan audience. She is kind, gregarious, beautiful and obedient to the men in her life. No one, not even Iago, can say an honest word against her (“honest” being the operative word in Iago’s case). Iago’s machinations slowly guide Othello toward jealous rage. Desdemona begins to see it when it’s probably too late. When the real tragedy starts to kick in, Othello attacks Desdemona with every intention to kill her.

By this point, we’ve gotten to know Othello as an intelligent, all-around decent man. Watching his self-control unravel would be disturbing any way it happened, but to see it all result from unwarranted jealousy — including a scene where he finds Desdemona’s phone and starts searching through her recent history — borders on horrific. When he attacks her, that border is not just crossed, but demolished. There is a raw, emotional violence to that scene that resonates all the more in a year when so many are speaking out about harassment and violence against women.

**Production-specific spoilers below**

One of the final moments of the play, however, wins the gut-punching trophy. In the text, Othello ends his own life before anyone can react to stop him. In this stunning production, Othello instead simply makes a sudden move toward the guards who are surrounding him. Gunshots ring out as the stage lights flash, and in the next moment, he’s on the ground, dead. When the guards search his body, they find no weapon. The surviving protagonists — and the audience — can offer nothing but wide-eyed stares.

“Othello” runs until March 24 at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company.

Zach Moning is the communications manager at ArtsWave. Reach him here with questions or comments about ArtsWave Guide.