THE Royal Shakespeare Company will perform Othello, Shakespeare s tragedy of love, betrayal and prejudice, starting at the Hackney Empire today (Tuesday). Taking on the title role of Othello is Patrice Naiambana, who, as a member of the RSC s Histories ac

THE Royal Shakespeare Company will perform Othello, Shakespeare's tragedy of love, betrayal and prejudice, starting at the Hackney Empire today (Tuesday).

Taking on the title role of Othello is Patrice Naiambana, who, as a member of the RSC's Histories acting ensemble, recently appeared as the Earl of Warwick in Henry VI and Henry IV and as the Ghost of Warwick in Richard III in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The company also includes Natalia Tena in her RSC debut as Desdemona. Best known for her role as Tonks in the Harry Potter films, Natalia's other credits include TV's Afterlife and Doctors.

Michael Gould, who plays Iago, recently appeared in Women of Troy at the National Theatre and The Ugly One for the Royal Court.

Director Kathryn Hunter said: "With a superlative ensemble of actors we will seek to re-examine the heart of Othello, arguably the most topical and accessible tragedy from Shakespeare's major phase as a dramatist.

"At the centre of the play is a marriage between two people of different cultures. Their union could signal a celebration of difference, a triumph of love over prejudice and intolerance. But their union is destroyed.

"I'm setting the production in the 1950s. The way people view women and those of a different race are central to the play, so setting it in a time that predates the modern feminist and race relations era seems to make sense."

Othello will be at the Hackney Empire until Saturday, February 14 with evening performances at 7.30pm and matinees on Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm.

Tickets cost �12-�22 from www.hackneyempire.co.uk or 020 8985 2424.