Meet the Cast of Stafford Festival Shakespeare 2016: Iago

The latest meet the cast interview is with Niall Costigan who will be playing the role of Iago, one of Shakespeare’s most sinister villains. Niall has previously performed in several Shakespeare productions including Macbeth at the Liverpool Everyman, Much Ado About Nothing for page2stage.

 

What made you want to get involved with the performance of Othello at Stafford Festival Shakespeare?

Othello is a fantastic play, and Iago is a great part to sink your teeth into. The director, Clare Prenton, has amazing ideas about the production so I was honoured to be asked to get involved.

The Stafford Festival Shakespeare is now one of the largest Shakespeare events in Europe, are you excited about being involved?

I can’t wait. It’s a huge scale performance, the perfect setting for one of Shakespeare’s most ambitious and dramatic works. The story traverses two countries and takes the audience through an array of backdrops.

Have you performed in any outdoor productions before?

I grew up performing in the biggest street festival, the Aurillac Street Theatre Festival in France. I have also performed Shakespeare in the open air not far away at Trentham Gardens. However, this will be my largest scale outdoor performance yet.

Could you tell us about what Iago brings to the play?

Iago is the ringmaster of the Othello story, he is brilliantly fascinating and guides you through the play explaining exactly what he will do and then doing it. In essence, what he brings is that he makes the play happen, manipulating the entire production. He is the second largest part Shakespeare created, so you will spend a long time listening to my character talk!

What is it that you most like about the play Othello?

Honestly, I don’t know yet! Every scene we rehearse becomes my new favourite. It just makes you realise why Othello has remained as popular as it is for over 400 years, it reveals so much about humanity and truly depicts the human condition. I think every audience member will discover a part of the play that they can relate to.

What is your highlight of this year’s Othello production and setting?

The best thing for me has to be getting to work with such a fantastic team, who are all deeply passionate about the work we’re doing. I’m really looking forward to that first performance and getting to step onto the stage with them.

What do you think will be the highlight for the audience this year?

I think the audience will enjoy how different this Othello production is from performances they may have seen before. The production team have really opened the play up, and there is plenty for the audience to feast their eyes and ears on.

Iago is the villain in Othello. He betrays the trust of Othello despite having a reputation for being honest and honourable and he controls the other characters in the play through manipulation and deceit.

Othello will run from June 23 until July 9, tickets are available here, or by calling 01785 619080.