Promising ‘the best seat in the house’, the ambitious project of National Theatre Live doesn’t disappoint. Watching artful close-ups and full stage shots I feel somewhat like a football fan watching the very best recording of a live match- and smug that I’m paying much less for a much better view. Despite a hefty running time, each moment of Nicholas Hytner’s Othello remains compelling, producing a reaction that lasts well beyond the 3 hour 15 minute running time.

Vicky Mortimer’s set alone deserves praise; the intricate transformations from crowded pub to cabinet office to army camp are seamless. The claustrophobia of the barracks and the army base enhances the highly confined nature of a tragedy that, at its heart, is ultimately domestic.  The cabinet of Venice presents the London elite in every detail, a striking contrast to the gritty reality of the military base. The added dynamic of class is subtly imitated through clever costume design.  New dynamics were created; Kinnear’s Iago hangs out at the pub, cigarette in hand, while Lester’s Othello and Bailey’s Cassio don suits in their spare time. Traditional stereotypes are given a modern makeover with delightful details such as Rodrigo’s artfully tasselled loafers and rolled up chinos.

Unarmed and with no uniform, Desdemona’s vulnerability in the camp is heightened. She remains visibly exiled from the other characters on stage through the central acts as the only civilian in a hostile environment. The innovative decision to dress Emilia in uniform brings an entirely new dynamic to the role of friend and confidant; not merely a lady but implicitly a guard to Desdemona in the dominantly male camp. The ‘willow scene’ is recast with both women swigging from beer cans. Emilia’s comments on the nature of men and their ‘use’ of women, is showcased as more of a feminist critique than a woeful lament of female powerlessness. Her power, both in this scene and the finale, enhances her role in the play like never before. This refreshing new reading of Emilia’s character explores the shift in vocal power from Iago to his wife: from the voice that creates the lies to the voice that exposes them.

The delivery of ‘war like epithets’, unravels often complex language artfully for the eager audience. It sounds clichéd, but the play really does succeed in its aim of making Shakespeare accessible. This is not simply because of the scale of this broadcasting enterprise, but through the vivid conviction of the delivery of the lines. The characters aren’t ‘speaking Shakespeare’ they’re simply conversing; it seems almost an afterthought that they do so with Elizabethan tongues.

In the somewhat painful initial interview before the show starts Hytner is keen to stress his belief that Othello remains as contemporary today as it was for the Renaissance; with this production as evidence, he’s got it spot on.