Othello to be performed at Prague Castle in English with an award-winning Shakespearean actor

One of the Bard’s most popular plays, Othello, will have a short tour of the Czech Republic including two nights at Prague Castle as well as stops in Ostrava and Brno. This is the fifth year that Prague Shakespeare Company (PSC) is collaborating with the Czech Summer Shakespeare Festival.

The highlight of
this staging is actor Nari Blair-Mangat in the title role. He has
appeared on screen in the James Bond film Spectre, Disney’s the
live-action version of Cinderella, and the remake of Murder on the
Orient Express. Currently, he is filming the miniseries Temple.

He was also seen in
the National Theatre Live production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth,
which starred and was co-directed by Kenneth Branagh. It was part of
a series of UK stage presentations that were projected in cinemas
worldwide.

He received an Ian
Charleson Award commendation for his performance in that production
of Macbeth, which was made for the Manchester International Festival
in 2013. The production transferred to NY’s Park Avenue Armory in
2014.

Blair-Mangat has also made appearances at the Royal National Theatre, the Old Vic Theatre, the Vaudeville Theatre and the Wyndhams Theatre, He was born in inner London to a Jamaican mother and Indian father, and trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

This production also
has original music by Patrick Neil Doyle, the son of Oscar-nominated
composer Patrick Doyle. The younger Doyle has worked with PSC on
previous productions such all three plays in the Trojan War cycle. He
has also worked on films such as Nae Pasaran, The Legend of Longwood
and Kepler’s Dream. TV credits include the miniseries Moonstone.

Othello is Shakespeare’s classic story of jealousy, ambition and manipulation. It will be presented in the original English, with Czech supertitles. Guy Roberts, who is also directing, will appear as Iago, and Jessica Boone as Desdemona. Other key cast includes Taylor Napier as Cassio, Robert Orr as Roderigo, Scott Bellefeuille as Montano, Jeff Smith as Lodovico.

The play’s run starts July 30 at Slezskoostravský hrad in Ostrava, then moves to the near the Míčovna at the Royal Gardens of Prague Castle on Aug. 1 and 2. The final performance is Aug. 8 at Hrad Špilberk in Brno. All performances are at 8:30 pm.