An absorbing and comically ridiculous continuation of Othello, Rumpus’ ‘Iago Speaks’ is metatheatre taken to extremes.

‘Iago Speaks’ starts straight from when Othello ends, as we meet a silent and brooding Iago in a jail cell that takes up most of the stage, creating a feeling of claustrophobia and entrapment as we never escape the jail setting. Playing off his insistent final line in the play that he will ‘never speak a word’, we watch an overly chatty loud jailor insist upon making him talk.

The play is unbelievably immersive and borders on preposterous, as we descend into a world of madness with the jailor and Iago. As the jailor tries to convince Iago of the presence of an audience in the room instead of a wall, he runs up to unsuspecting audience members, shakes their hands and even plays throw and catch with them. Iago refuses to believe the presence of an audience, to which we are so baffled we begin to question our own sanity. Although the ending should be unsurprising given plot of Othello, we are shocked nevertheless, having grown fond of the odd friendship between the pair.

The stellar two-handed acting team play off each other unpredictably and with shocking hilarity. Joshua Beaudry has a mammoth task with the seemingly endless lines the jailor has, delivering them as if spontaneous as he channels the theatrical and expressive mannerisms of a side-lined character of Shakespeare’s plays. Despite remaining silent for the first segment, Skye Brandon as Iago conveys layers behind his deceit and surprisingly comedic nature as an unlikely friendship blooms between the pair – we root for them, forgetting his devious and Machiavellian misdeeds.

Although highly creative, the play progresses very slowly. The lack of a lengthy plot means the audience feels as claustrophobic and almost trapped inside the jail cell as Iago is. What is a clever device to emphasise the monotony and descent into a journey of madness also means that we spend a long portion of the play waiting for the reveal of the ending.

The play hilariously pokes fun at itself and Shakespearean dramas. A rambling jailor re-enacts a parody version of the Othello ending, getting us to question the logistics of how Emilia could possibly sing the Willow song as she dies. With unpredictability, hilarity and an abundance of food for thought, ‘Iago Speaks’ is a strikingly original reimagining of one of Shakespeare’s notorious villains.

‘Iago Speaks‘ is at theSpace Triplex – Big until Sat 23 Aug 2025 at various time