National Troupe thrills Abia students with Othello

The group simplified the West African Examination Council’s prescribed literature text by dramatising it on stage for easy comprehension.

THE nation’s foremost performance outfit, the National Troupe of Nigeria (NTN), continued its outreach project in December with a trip to Umuahia, Abia State.

Unlike its previous outings in the first quarter of 2016, when it took the dance drama, Murna to Internally Displaced Persons camps in  Abuja and Bauchi State, the Abia trip was for the sake of secondary school students — to simplify a prescribed literature book by  dramatising it on stage.

The text chosen was William Shakespeare’s Othello, one of the books in the West African Examination Council’s Literature syllabus for 2016 to 2020, with students of Bishop Nwedo Pastoral Centre, Umuahia, the first to enjoy the play set to tour the whole country.

Staged in collaboration with Agwu Nsi Players, a private theatre troupe in Abia, led by Dan Nwokoji-Aku, who also directed the play, Othello, about a Moor General in 16th century Venice, is an interesting story of love, race, jealousy and betrayal.

To further simplify the text written in Elizabethan English for the students, the presentation done in modern English began with moonlight stories and choruses, which saw the actors dancing round before they formed a circle. The play thereafter opened with the purported elopement of Desdemona, the beautiful daughter of Senator Brabantio, with Othello.

A great general in the Venetian army, Othello, an African, has risen to that position through personal efforts and diligence. He is greatly feared but not well respected, despite all his achievements. The General’s troubles, however, begin with his appointment of Michael Cassio as his lieutenant instead of Lago.  Though Cassio is the better warrior, Lago takes offence and begins to plot the downfall of Othello.  Sadly, Othello, who is more interested in wars and conquests, is oblivious of this.

Lago colludes with Rodrigo, a wealthy Venetian businessman, who neither loves nor respects Othello because of his race and who has sworn to oversee his downfall, to put him into trouble with Senator Brabantio. They tell the revered senator that his precious daughter, Desdemona, has been stolen and married by Othello, the black Moor.

Roderigo, meanwhile, is also interested in Desdemona, who fails to return his love. Othello is all she has eyes for, despite the reluctance of her father. The unrequited love further embitters Roderigo, who throws all his wealth into the plot to shame Othello, who naively also does not help himself.

When he marries Desdemona, Othello gives her a precious handkerchief given to him by his mother.  It is a token of his love and never to be taken away from her.  When Othello discovers that Desdemona has lost the handkerchief, he becomes angry. He becomes further enraged when she cannot explain how she lost it.   He sees this as a betrayal of love and trust. The General suspects that Desdemona has found another lover and transferred his symbol of love for her. Despite her strident and heart-felt protestations, he stabs her to death but realises after the act that his foes engineered the plot.  Realising that he has lost all he labored for, especially as Emilia, Lago’s woman confirms the plot to make him kill Desdemona, Othello commits suicide.

A timeless story of race, love and jealousy, the play’s cast was led by the Abia State Director of Culture, R. E. Okoji, who played Brabantio. He and the others succeeded in portraying the inner workings of Venice and Cyprus in 16th century Europe to much appreciation from the students.

Speaking before certificates were presented to the actors and the students, Artistic Director of the National Troupe, Mr. Akin Adejuwon, disclosed that the essence of the initiative, “is to ensure that the play is made easier for the children to understand.  It is also to help reinvigorate interest in literature.  As it is now, most students do not have the appetite to offer literature in WAEC anymore.  For these reasons and more, the Troupe has begun to embark on the stage performances of plays in the syllabus that otherwise pose serious challenge to the children.

“And since most of the Shakespearean works are done in Elizabethan English, taking the works to the stage in normal everyday English will certainly help to situate the story.  It was to encourage the students to see the plot, the theme, the characters and the morals in the play and relate these to their immediate environment.”