A match made in heaven, that’s what.
I was lucky enough to witness this union of two very different artistic traditions in Shakespeare meets Noh: DESDEMONA at the recently concluded George Town Festival 2026.
Staged by KL Shakespeare Players and Life Art Union, in collaboration with musician Santosh Logandran and Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur, and supported by the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia and The Japan-Malaysia Cultural Exchange Project, this gem of a production was a mesmerising retelling of the tragic tale of Desdemona from William Shakespeare’s Othello.
This time round, my mother was my partner-in-crime, alongside three other theatre-enthusiast friends.
And I was immersed from the get-go.
From the intricate costumes and masks to the clever use of lighting and the minimalist stage, I was wholly sucked into this otherworldly realm of surreal moods and the quiet power of Noh theatre. The hypnotic way the characters moved in measured, almost meditative rhythms across the stage had me entranced throughout.
Every movement was fluid and intentional, enhanced by haunting and evocative chanting and an eclectic mix of music.
Each word spoken, intoned or sung was lyrical in a seamless blend of Japanese, English, Bahasa Melayu, and even Cantonese and Tamil, with surtitles provided. At some points, the English surtitles disappeared when English was spoken on stage, but they eventually found their way back. Even the Malay surtitles were wonderfully poetic and nuanced.
The story unfolded with a monk (played by Seiichi Kawano) who stumbled upon a white robe belonging to the goddess Aphrodite (played by Sarai) while he was by the sea, chanting prayers for the dead.
Aphrodite then recounted how Desdemona (played by Takakiyo Katsura), falsely accused of infidelity, was killed by her jealous husband, Othello (played by Lim Kien Lee).
The highly skilled Japanese and Malaysian ensemble also included Lee Swee Keong (Fool/Fate), Akira Yoshimatsu (Iago), Lim Soon Heng (Emilia), and Zaifri Husin (Cassio), with the support of musicians Jinya Imai (also director and scriptwriter), Santosh Logandran, and Asako Hazuki.
In a reimagined twist to the original narrative, Aphrodite resurrected Desdemona from the dead, only for Desdemona to choose to be killed by Othello once again.
My initial reaction was an incredulous, “Wait, what?!”
Why did she not want to redeem herself?
It was Othello’s obsessive (and possessive) love for Desdemona that put her in that sorry state. I wondered if it was Desdemona’s corresponding obsessive love for Othello that made her choose to remain in the afterlife with her husband, who had taken his own life after realising his fatal mistake.
Or was it her disillusionment with flawed love that prompted her to resign herself to her fate?
Which then brings me to the deliberately odd title of this piece: Love is Death… Death is Sin… so Love is Sin.
Disclaimer: these words are my liberal paraphrasing of my understanding of the monk’s lament at the start, when he met Aphrodite.
Allow me to break it down:
- Othello’s jealous love of Desdemona caused her death.
- Desdemona’s murder is morally wrong.
- Therefore, jealous love is abhorrent.
With this, I am reminded of the Buddhist idea that the root of suffering is attachment.
While not directly applicable here, I see a parallel with the depiction of love between Othello and Desdemona. Their love, in its obsessive and possessive form, becomes not a source of happiness but of suffering and, ultimately, death.
My reflection on the depth and complexity of human love lingered long after the curtain call.
Desdemona and Othello’s marriage failed, no thanks to Othello’s all-consuming and destructive “love”.
The marriage of Shakespeare and Noh theatre, however, did not fail — thanks to the tasteful artistry of this East-meets-West fusion by the production team.
And that, perhaps, is the beauty of this production. It brings together two very different artistic traditions and somehow makes the union feel entirely natural.
I can only sing praises for Shakespeare meets Noh: DESDEMONA. For me, it was truly one of the most stunning performances I have seen in a while.
About the writer:
Lauren Tan believes in doing things before you’re ready, asking “can meh?” and diving in any way because that’s where the best stories happen. By day, she juggles real-life responsibilities. By night (and on some weekends), she willingly subjects herself to rehearsals, auditions, and public embarrassment, all in the name of ‘growth.’
Seni:Kita (pentaspena.pg@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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