Harcouts Hawke's Bay Arts Festival: Othello given a Maoir Twist

Maori performance masks are used in SolOthello.

SHAKESPEARE'S Othello will be givenadistinctly New Zealand twist when Regan Taylor performs his one-man show, SolOthello, at this year's Harcourts Hawke's Bay Arts Festival.

Based on Shakespeare's classic tale of love, jealousy, betrayal and revenge, SolOthello isadynamic and cheeky interpretation of one of history's most tragic plays.

Co-devised and performed as a solo piece by Regan Taylor, SolOthello usesMa¯ori performance mask (Te Mata KokakooRe¯hia) to bring Shakespeare's characters to life.
The intricately carved totara masks are used to differentiate the various characters, while adding a comedic element to the play.

"The masks are cheeky and endearing and bring some lightness to the piece," says Taylor.

The script itself has been pared down to its essence with just four characters from the original script represented: Othello, Iago, Roderigo and Desdemona. Taylor expertly weaves together Shakespeare's original prose, modern English and te reoMa¯ori to give each character their own unique voice. Of the four characters, Taylor says he enjoys playing Iago the most.

"He's so duplicitous, he's a real snake in the grass. He's good at manipulating situations and the people around him." Taylor devised SolOthello with the aim of making Shakespeare more accessible to everyday audiences. He stresses that you don't need to beaShakespeare aficionado or understand te reo Ma¯ori to enjoy SolOthello.

"I hated Shakespeare," admits Taylor, "but Iwanted to see if I could getmy cousins and relatives to enjoy it." The process of reimagining Othello intoaMaori context presented some interesting challenges for Taylor, but gives the workadistinctly New Zealand flavour.

"In our version, Othello leaves his tribe and goes toanew tribe where he marries their princess." SolOthello was first performed as part of the 2015 Hamilton Gardens Festival and has since played in Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga and Northland. Earlier this month, the masks travelled to Canada, where it was performed as part of the Rutas Indigenous Arts Festival in Toronto.

■ SolOthello plays for one night only tonight at The Century Theatre, MTG. Tickets are available from the iSites, Napier Municipal Theatre box office or online at www.hbaf.co.nz.