Hiphop and contemporary dance, DJs and dancers, C.U. and Sin Cru: Cambridge's more co-ordinated members present us with a melting pot of a story- Shakespeare's Othello reworked for the DJ’s turntable.
The collective take the bass-line of the tragedy and drop it into their latest offering: Authentik? Set in the gang lifestyle, the production highlights the power struggles, jealousy, duplicity and betrayal that eventually fracture the solidarity of Othello’s crew, ‘As the protagonists become successively enmeshed in a web of deceit, the doubt over who truly is authentic becomes frenzied’ adds Priya Sahathevan, Authentik?’s director.
The catalyst for the disintegration of the crew is the infamous Iago but opinion is divided as to his motivation. Is it twisted jealousy of Cassio’s privileged relationship with Othello? Can we see an unharnessed resentment that Othello, a black man, has achieved the pinnacle of success and legendary status??
This ambiguous quality gives you the audience the freedom to interpret the story as you will, Shakespeare seems indeed to focus the gaze on the politics that unfurl as Iago weaves his web. Through Roderigo you may see the vulnerability of the infatuated lover that renders him foolish and desperate. With Emilia you perceive the too-eager-to-please girl blind to her husband’s manipulations. Cassio and Desdemona portray Othello’s loyal and good but ultimately naďve partners, in crime and love respectively. Othello is the pivot on which the story turns. Do you see in him the experience of a ‘minority’ driven to success? Respected yet feared and all too easily made into a target; transformed in the space of a moment from hero to outcast- left alone in the difficult times while his friends remain passive or claim the moral high ground.
To an extent what you take from the story will relate to your own life story, yet there are certain specific divisions that Sahathevan seeks to address: Why is that performed dance is considered an acquired taste when thousands risk all odds to shuffle on the Cambridge dance floors? Why is it that in a small ‘city’ there is such a divide between the immigrant student population and the local Cambridge population? Why is it that a successful person remains vulnerable to discrimination and cynicism dependent on their background?
Such discussions have been reflected in the production of Authentik? itself lending a tangible sense of group politics to the performers, choreographers and certainly the young DJ himself. It is an ambitious project to unite such diverse influences under one roof, to seek to appeal to a cosmopolitan audience that will recognise the various experiences and acknowledge voices that may otherwise be ignored or misrepresented.
For three nights next week, Emmanuel’s QB Theatre will be transformed into a contested dance floor where politics and passion are played, or rather are danced out. Can they pull off what spelled tragedy in Shakepeare’s mind- can people bridge the gap of their experiences and transcend the banal? Surely there is no more relevant question for the 21st century?
(E.Dowdeswell in TCS, 28.02.03)