Iago Speaks is a riotous, resonant post-Othello two-hander that gives voice to one of Shakespeare’s perpetual shadows: the jailer. A stock figure who lingers at the edges of tragedy—arriving too late, speaking too little—he’s reimagined here as a philosophical clown, a reluctant midwife to Iago’s final confession. Daniel Macdonald’s script is both homage and critique: it honours the Bard’s architecture while gleefully dismantling its hierarchies.
Joshua Beaudry’s Jailer is the soul of the piece. He stumbles, cajoles, philosophizes, and—at one point—professes love to a bewildered audience member, a moment that had me laughing out loud. His register shifts are dazzling: Shakespearean gravitas one moment, crude vernacular the next, always with a glint of mischief. He’s one of “the others” in Shakespeare—the unnamed, the unacknowledged—and his growing awareness of this status gives the play its emotional charge. He’s not just comic relief; he’s a someone developing an understanding of power in society.
Skye Brandon’s Iago is true to form: a master manipulator whose weapon is language. In Othello, he engineers tragedy through insinuation and rhetorical sleight of hand—planting the handkerchief, whispering doubts, and coaxing Othello into murderous certainty. Here, he remains coiled and calculating, his silence broken not by remorse but by provocation. Brandon plays him with snake-like charm—amiable on the surface, but always circling the truth with menace.
The language play is exquisite. Macdonald’s script gallops through slapstick, existential dread, and dramatic irony, never losing its rhythm. It’s a world where words are weapons, lifelines, and punchlines—and the audience is invited to wield them too.
Whether you’re a Shakespeare devotee or a Fringe wanderer, Iago Speaks is a must-see. It’s funny, philosophical, and fiercely original—a celebration of the overlooked, the absurd, and the power of words and their danger.
Reviewed by Pat Harrington
More information and tickets here
Read our interview with Daniel Macdonald here
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