Three Kinds of Shakespeare: 1964 Productions at London, Stratford-upon-Avon and Edinburgh

Summary

At the National Theatre, in 1964, those fortunate or persistent enough to obtain a ticket saw a starred performance by Sir Laurence Olivier, an Othello whose words could startle and whose actions were inventive and sensuous. His last speech can serve as an image for the whole production. Othello, naked beneath a simple white gown, closed only at the waist, kneels on a low bed placed down-stage centre with tall hangings around it disappearing into the 'flies' behind the top of the proscenium arch. He clasps Desdemona's dead body to his chest, as if she knelt with him, and he raps out a loud: 'Soft you!' After the following pause his voice is surprisingly quiet, almost soft: 'a word or two before you go'. And then without break, continuing the impulses that had changed his voice, Othello kisses Desdemona on the neck, sensuously engrossed. Then the speech follows with recollected formality: 'I have done the state some service...'.

For the production of seven history-plays in a series at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, in 1964 (the three parts of Henry VI freely adapted to form two plays only), a representative image might be a scene change. There is music and a slow, purposeful filing off-stage, nicely judged to illustrate the political factions and the concerns of the characters. The lights change and two large, dark, triangular-based structures turn before a dark, trellised background.