LotusFM language drama of a different sort

Durban - Thereby hangs a tale, to borrow The Bard’s words: Othello is coming to a radio near you soon.

LotusFM this week began production of the Shakespearean tragedy, just the thing to help pupils battling with the text.

A stellar cast has been lined up by Raeesa Mahomed, who has been with LotusFM for more than 10 years and, is responsible for the hugely-popular Sunshine Mall and The Moghuls.

Come July 4, Shakespeare reigns.

That is for 15 minutes in the usual drama slot, weekdays at 9.45am, and then again at 9.30pm.

Mahomed said the idea came to her because her eldest daughter’s matric setwork is Othello.

“I wondered why it had not struck me before. This generation, who speak SMS language, battle with Shakespeare and therefore we would be doing many households a service by telling the story in plain English.”

She said she hoped it would be well received.

“Shakespeare is not under copyright. It is in the public domain. I’ve tried to translate or modernise word-for-word, there is no Durbanisms or Indianisms if you will, because we wanted to preserve the elegance of the original text.

“It’s a story for all to enjoy, and in this format it will surely be useful to schoolgoers.”

Nhlakanipho Manqele, who essayed the role in the national stage production as Othello, plays the lead, with the talented and well-established actors Michael Gritten, Derosha Moodley and Phillips Savage as Iago, Desdemona and Emilia respectively. The winter holidays will make it easier for pupils to tune in.

Santosh Beharie, the station’s programme manager, said he was excited by the new project.

“‘Radio drama is well established at the station, and for years we have produced work that was of a high standard that is also very entertaining. This is just taking it to a new level and also speaks to our public service mandate.

“We plan to do this every year with the matric setworks and will look at other works as well as Shakespeare’s,” he said.