The Oregon Shakespeare Festival production of Shakespeare's Othello continues through February 9 at the American Repertory Theater. In the exclusive video above, Danforth Comins, who plays Iago, breaks down a key scene in which the infamous villain talks to Othello (played by Chris Butler).

Othello is directed by Bill Rauch. In the contemporary staging, Rauch explores society’s polarizing struggles with difference and the destructive results when women are silenced.

Consumed by their bigotry and xenophobia, those who praised the Moorish general Othello for his military successes now reject his marriage to Desdemona. The newlyweds are determined to overcome this resentment, but Othello’s assignment in Cyprus draws them into the web of his lieutenant Iago, whose jealousy knows no bounds.

Performances of Othello began January 13. Alejandra Escalante stars as Desdemona.