Review Round-Up: OTHELLO at Theatre Royal Haymarket

In Shakespeare’s dark tragedy about jealousy and obsession, Moorish military commander Othello is riding high on his war victories and his passionate marriage to the beautiful Desdemona. But when his so-called friend, the tricky Iago, manipulates him into believing Desdemona has been unfaithful to him, it sends Othello down a devastating path of destruction. Tom Morris’ production of Othello relocates it to the modern age, and stars David Harewood (Homeland, Best of Enemies), who returns to the role of Othello nearly 30 years after being the first black actor to play the part at the National Theatre. Also starring are Toby Jones (Mr Bates vs the Post Office, Detectorists) as Iago, Caitlin FitzGerald (Succession, Masters of Sex) as Desdemona, Vinette Robinson (Boiling Point) as Emilia, and Luke Treadaway (Cabaret) as Cassio.

What are critics saying about Othello?

London Box Office

‘Shakespeare’s tragedy of love and jealousy has never been more handsomely realised nor delivered with more assuredness’

★★★★★

Stuart King was full of praise for Tom Morris’s staging, coupled with Ti Green’s set and costume design, calling it ‘visually arresting’ in a production ‘which oozes a stylish flair and palette’. He also applauded the cast: Harewood brings ‘just the right balance between magnetism and self-doubt’, while Jones’s ‘wily execution of the role is streaked with a comically detached ambivalence and callousness’. He also particularly enjoyed how in Morris’s production, ‘the women are finally permitted to fully shine.’ All in all, he found it ‘brazenly pitched and entirely accessible’, concluding that it ‘will speak to a modern West End audience in a way few other productions have managed.’

Read the review here.

The Telegraph

‘Stellar performances anchor this compelling production’

★★★★

Dominic Cavendish was full of praise for the cast. He described Toby Jones’s performance as having ‘a rumpled, bloke-next-door affability, punctured by gleeful nastiness’. David Harewood, meanwhile, is ‘a great, under-sung Shakespearean, he summons a martial authority and dignity that’s registered in much of the verse.’ He appreciated how the play balanced both comedy and tragedy and remained ‘anchored to psychological plausibility: how swiftly reason can unravel.’ Despite that, he found the production ‘uneven, its sense of time and place indistinct’ and thought PJ Harvey’s use of music was ‘oddly intrusive’. Morris, he concluded, should have trusted more in the acting instead of overly relying on ‘intrusive lighting rigs in the final scenes, or imposing projected images, or eccentric costuming.’

Read the review here.

The company of OTHELLO at Theatre Royal Haymarket. Photo by Brinkhoff-Moegenburg.

The Guardian

‘Tom Morris’s stylish staging could probe greater depths’

★★★

Arifa Akbar was also deeply impressed with the acting. ‘Harewood’s Othello holds your attention with his physical presence and imperial quality,’ she wrote. 'He woos them, and us.’ Toby Jones, meanwhile, ‘fights his battle for domination with a shining relish that borders on the comically conniving’ and Caitlin FitzGerald ‘is a smooth blend of strength and fearfulness’. She found some of the racist language jarring, largely due to the modern-dress nature of the production. While she found the production ‘ravishing to look at, immaculately choreographed and darkly humorous’, ultimately she felt it ‘does not probe deeply or seek to connect the play’s manipulations with our era.’ She concluded: ‘This is an unanchored Othello, afloat against its shifting shades of sky.’

Read the review here.

The Stage

‘Packed with bold, sometimes baffling choices’

★★★

David Fargnoli found Othello to be ‘impactful and accessible, but frustratingly unfocused’ and ‘trippingly paced’. The fleshed-out comedic moments, he felt, become ‘increasingly incongruous as the play rattles towards its bleak conclusion.’ But the cast is undoubtedly strong, with Harewood as a ‘ferocious Othello’ who ‘brings gravitas and grizzled intensity to the role’, sharing ‘palpable chemistry’ with FitzGerald, who ‘skilfully captures Desdemona’s guiltless, guileless openness.’ Jones, meanwhile, ‘makes an especially sour, overtly villainous Iago’ while Vinette Robinson ‘gives an empathetic, scene-stealing turn as Emilia.’ He found Ti Green’s set to have ‘a striking, somewhat distracting design’, while ‘composer Jon Nicholls and iconic alt-rocker PJ Harvey provide an underwhelming score of ominous droning ambience.’ His verdict: ‘the big ideas and brash performances work well individually, but don’t quite cohere.’

Read the review here.

The Evening Standard

‘Why does this star vehicle feel so humdrum?’

★★★

Nick Curtis declared, ‘this Othello feels strangely old fashioned’ and ‘curiously adrift from the modern world.’ Like Cavendish, he was unimpressed with the score: ‘PJ Harvey’s bizarre and sporadic score seems quaint.’ But the cast for him is stellar. ‘Harewood is an actor of immense charisma and meticulous depth,’ he wrote, and he and FitzGerald are convincing as an initially loving couple, while Jones’s ‘layered, loathsome, inveigling Iago carries both shock value and cosy familiarity.’ But ultimately, he found ‘a lack of dynamism and propulsion to the direction’ and ‘an uncertainty of tone’, where he noticed audiences laughing at moments that were meant to horrify.

Read the review here.

The Independent

‘A starry production that grants more power to the play’s women, but ultimately dulls its edge’

★★★

Alice Saville, in contrast to many others, was less convinced by Jones’s performance, whom she felt gives Iago ‘all the looming menace of a peevish middle manager.’ Harewood, on the other hand, ‘exudes warmth and dignity’ and has ‘a self-contained, confident energy’, while FitzGerald brings ‘a new maturity’ to Desdemona, but Saville felt ‘there’s a certain chemistry missing from their interactions.’ She noted the production’s attempts to put the women of the play at the forefront; ‘an excellent Vinette Robinson becomes the emotional heart of the play as Desdemona’s maid Emilia.’ While Ti Green’s ‘ingenious set design’ creates a strong sense of place in this modern-day production, ultimately she found Othello to be ‘an entertaining but ultimately unpersuasive take on Shakespeare’s story.’

Read the review here.

The Times

'An underpowered production'

★★★

Clive Davis felt that FitzGerald vastly outshone Harewood and Jones in what he called ‘an underpowered production’. Jones, he found, didn’t quite capture Iago’s ‘aura of profound evil’, while Harewood’s ‘descent into madness never really tugs at the emotions.’ Like other critics, he noticed how ‘the audience was prone to chortle at scenes and lines that weren’t remotely comical.’ FitzGerald, meanwhile brings a maturity and sophistication to Desdemona that was widely appreciated. It’s a ‘stolid production.’ he wrote but didn’t quite capture the emotional intensity of Shakespeare’s tragedy.

Read the review here.

David Harewood, Toby Jones, and Caitlin FitzGerald in OTHELLO at Theatre Royal Haymarket. Photo by Brinkhoff-Moegenburg.

TimeOut

‘A solid commercial show’

★★★

Andrzej Lukowski noted how Morris leaned into the play’s often understated comedic moments, which brought a ‘glossiness’ to the production. ‘Jones is a thoroughly entertaining Iago, who tackles Shakespeare's elegant verse with a coarse vigour,’ he wrote. A racially diverse cast meant that Morris avoided overly engaging with the play’s themes of racism, and made this ‘an overly light production.’ But it’s still, Lukowski continued, ‘slick and entertaining’, with a cast that tackles Shakespeare’s verse ‘with pin-sharp lucidity’. Overall, he found it to be ‘a solid commercial show’, accessible and safe for modern audiences, but felt Morris could have gotten away with being a lot more daring.

Read the review here.

The Financial Times

‘Fine performances that don’t quite hang together’

★★★

Tim Bano called it ‘an accessible, clear production, free of any particular concept, and thrilling moment to moment’, but also ‘something of a grab-bag’, whose individual components didn’t quite work well together. Harewood and Jones are both powerhouses, but their performances seem to ‘run in different directions’. Jones’s ‘Iago has the coldness of a serial killer, interested in a detached way,’ he wrote. Bano, like other critics, wasn’t keen on the ‘ominous droning music from PJ Harvey which starts and stops abruptly.’ While it was ‘refreshing to see an Othello that hasn’t been squeezed into some concept’, ultimately, he concluded: ‘there’s no connective tissue, no thread that makes those individual scenes join up to make a cohesive whole.’

Read the review here.

WhatsOnStage

‘A curiously old-fashioned and superficial version of a play that cries out for a powerful vision’

★★

Sarah Crompton quickly and succinctly identified her key problem with the production: ‘all its stars seem to be starring in a different version of Shakespeare’s play’, which makes it feel ‘disjointed’. ‘It looks handsome enough,’ she wrote, praising Ti Green’s set design and Richard Howell’s ‘sensuous and sensitive lighting’, especially during the final acts, as well as the ‘increasingly ominous music from PJ Harvey and Jon Nicholls.’ But she found there was a lot of standing around, and ‘the action is curiously static’. Morris, she felt ‘leaves the characters curiously beached, reacting within a void.’ while the three central actors are impressive, they fail to gel together coherently. Jones, she found, ‘flounders as Iago, making his evil one-note, and his plain exterior characterless’, while FitzGerald ‘is attractive but bland.’ Her conclusion: ‘All in all, it is a curiously old-fashioned and superficial version of a play that cries out for a powerful vision. A disappointment.’

Read the review here.

Othello is playing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until 17 January 2026.

Othello has made waves among critics and audiences for its star-studded cast packed with powerhouse performers from the screen and stage. Keen to see more big name stars live and up close in the theatre? Check out our Celebrities On Stage in London page to stay up to date with the star power coming to the West End and beyond.