For lago-Mgaloblishvili the harmony existing between Othello and Desdemona is a monstrous anomaly, for it contradicts the meaning of life as he understands it lago is a realist and a psychologist He can face life squarely, although he looks at it with an ill-concealed disgust, for he has mistaken its seamy side for the norm. While the 'norm' of life scarcely tolerates lago, harmony rejects him altogether. The very existence of Othello and Desdemona turns lago's Weltschmerz into the posture of one who is a failure. And he accepts this challenge. In this lago, the imperceptible changes from the demonic to the moralistic and their interpenetration is striking. He is a democrat and a leveller: let everyone be equally miserable and dissolute. Harmony is intolerable to those who lack it: they see in it a reproach to themselves and a denial of the meaning of their own life. lago-Mgaloblishvili acts as the messiah of the weak, the sinful and the selfish. He feels the support of'the multitude of plain truths' behind him. And he sets out to destroy harmony in the name of the 'truth of life. On behalf of the commonplace and the plain he wages war against the unique and the lofty.
And, finally, comes the end: 'the learning of the truth'. Othello shows the greatness of his moral stature. He receives Fate's last and most terrible blow standing and unflinching. As though performing a sacred ritual, he unhurriedly unties the leather bonds with his teeth. And with the teeth he opens the veins of his scarred wrists. Then he squats down in front of a bowl filled with water and puts his hands in it This is the gesture of a man who has rid himself of slavishness. As a dying recollection, a faint vision, and a messenger of love and forgiveness there appears Desdemona. She approaches, candle in hand, and sits down on a stool near Othello, squatting on the floor. The Moor reaches out for her, trying to touch the hem of her dress with his lips, and becomes still. A flickering flame lights up the two figures silhouetted against the enveloping darkness. Thus ends the slave's tragic progress to spiritual freedom.
TemurChkheidze is a stage director with a clearly formulated credo. He is a passionate believer in psychological art And he serves it not like a day-labourer, but like a soldier. The tendencies of his development as a director are quite clear, yet his future productions are unpredictable.
38 Numbers 12-13