IAGO AND OTHELLO: BROTHERS IN ARMS

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That is actor Stephan Wolfert performing his one man show, Cry Havoc! Wolfert, a U.S. army veteran, draws together lines in Shakespeare’s plays spoken by soldiers and former soldiers, including Macbeth, Othello, and Richard III. He puts those words to the task of explaining the toll that soldiering and war can take on the psyches of the men and women who volunteer for military duty. Audiences of veterans, their families, and others love this show. Many also love Stephan’s free weekly veterans-only acting classes aimed at helping them readjust to life as civilians. Stephan came into the studio to talk with us about the two labours of love that animate his life. We call this podcast, “To The Battle Came He.”

BOGAEV: And I imagine that must come up in other ways too. Not just in the romantization of war but in how veterans speak to each other, how they relate. Do you have any examples of that?

WOLFERT: Yes. The scene that I use with the veterans is Othello, Iago, where Iago starts with, you know, “My noble lord… did Michael Cassio, / When you wooed my lady, know of your love?” Right, Iago is just asking the questions. So I’ve been using that scene for now… over 20 years, at this point with veterans, and never once—hundreds and hundreds of veterans—have I had the veterans ask, “Why does Othello believe Iago?”  And yet in every talkback I’ve been in with a production of it, which is six now, civilians ask, “Why does Othello believe Iago?”

BOGAEV: To this day, I don’t think I get it.

WOLFERT: And veterans just don’t even question it. It’s that camaraderie. Iago says in his speech that he served with Othello at Cyprus, Rhodes, and other grounds. They’ve been in combat together and even if Othello doesn’t like Iago, because you could say he doesn’t promote him so he doesn’t trust him, he trusts him enough to where he’s been in combat with him. He trusts him enough to where when that combat buddy says, “You know your younger wife who’s the daughter of your older best friend, are you sure she’s faithful?” All he does is ask the question. Boom, veterans get it. So much so, that I’ll give you one example. I was doing a workshop in Boston. Two veterans, both Vietnam, had never met each other before, and didn’t serve together; different times, different branches even. And we’re working on Othello. They had zero experience with Shakespeare, never read it, never heard it, nothing. And we’re working on that scene of Othello/Iago, where Iago’s asking about Desdemona, and with each time through without giving them any of the background. Just say, read it, what do you get? What don’t you get? We go back and forth and they’re reading it several times, and eventually the one who’s playing Othello, he says, “Wait a minute, is he asking about my wife?” I said, “Yeah, yeah he is.” “And saying that she might be cheating on me?” I said, “Yeah,” and he goes, “And we served in combat together?” Yeah, you guys… “Oh, the bitch is dead.” [LAUGH] And seeing my face he goes, “What, what, what?” I said, “Well, let’s keep reading, you’ll see.” And again, he was mortified.

BOGAEV: Because his buddy always has his back?

WOLFERT: Yes! Because we get it.

BOGAEV: Well, the fact that you can come home from the army and still think like a soldier, that’s something that really has plagued you, it sounds like, from the work that you do.