Iago is one of the great literary villains, a man who betrays every friend and ally, enriches himself through grift, drives his general mad with a weave of lies, and leaves a remorseless trail of carnage in his wake. The modern parallels are uncanny.

“Othello is a story about how quickly trust can be broken,” writes Haysam Kadri, director of this year’s production at the Stratford Festival. “This play feels particularly urgent today, in a world where perception can be manipulated and certainty is hard to hold on to.”

Under Kadri’s direction, Evan Buliung plays Iago as a chilling sociopath. The root of all his destructive scheming is a bruised ego, after he is passed over for promotion.

You could say Canada is having its Othello moment. Betrayals by our closest ally are piling up like bodies in the fifth act of a Shakespearean tragedy. Instead of succumbing to villainous machinations, however, Canadians have reacted with unity of purpose. Shoppers’ eyes are trained on finding a red maple leaf with every price tag. Cross-border travel is out; staycations are in.

Stratford is a microcosm of........

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