Costume design for 'Othello' by William Shakespeare, Noord Nederlands Toneel, Director Koos Terpstra, opening night October 27, 2001
The unscrupulous Jago makes Othello so jealous, that he kills his beloved Desdemona. The Director asked for Costumes that "bang outside the frame", as this would suit the play in the theatre tradition of Brecht. The costumes were a collage of animal- and strip-like elements. In the course of the play the costumes became bigger or smaller in small steps. For example the costume of Othello became (in four steps) smaller and smaller, which made him look bigger and bigger, just like the Hulk who bursts out of his clothes when he gets angry. In the same way the costume of Jago got bigger and bigger, which made him look more and more sneaky.
Direction: Koos Terpstra
Setdesign: Nelly Blessinga
Costumedesign: Roos van Geffen
Actors: Eric van Sauers, Ricky Koole, Jochum ten Haaf, Rogier in 't Hout, Kristen Denkers, Lotje van Lunteren, Waldemar Torenstra, Ludo Hoogmartens, Wolter Muller
Review in De Volkskrant, Oktober 30, 2001
"As if a party is about to start: The actors of Othello are all lined up, dressed in crazy costumes. The clothing illustrates the characters: Jago, the villain of the play, wears green stickles on his jacket. The white jacket of General Othello is littered with decorations and Desdemona the innocent angel, carries a white wing on her arm. The Director at the Noord Nederlands Toneel, Koos Terpstra, in this way plays a trick with the traditional way of staging Shakespeare(….)
His approach is audacious, the actors present themselves as a close and exuberantly acting ensemble; With this Othello they present a bold and idiosyncratic statement."