I kissed thee ere I killed thee, no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss. – Othello
On Saturday afternoon, NPR was featuring a dark streak of human nature in its programming. There were segments with police interviews of the Green River Killer, the German Jewish chemist that developed the Nazi death chamber chemical Zyklon that in its B form was used to exterminate the Jews and a survey that concluded that +80% of the human race has detailed fantasies about murdering another person. I mention this as preamble to Saturday night’s theater performance of Othello.
The ‘Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice’ is a play by William Shakespeare. It is this year’s selection at the Saint Louis Shakespeare Festival. Saturday night, Joanie, Anne and I went to go see the performance in Forest Park. You couldn’t ask for a more pleasant evening for outdoor entertainment, at least not here in Saint Louis. Did I mention the price of admission? It is free. We brought a picnic supper to entertain ourselves until the show started. In addition to our own refreshments, there were numerous other divertissements. From Juggling Jack to the Green Show, there was more to see then time permitted. The play itself was excellent, as the Saint Louis Shakespeare Festival’s productions always are. I’m glad we went on Saturday, because it was a late night.