Written around 1603, Shakespeare’s tragedy tells of the jealousy of a decorated Moorish general in the Venetian army, Othello, who is goaded to murderous violence against his innocent wife, Desdemona, by the treacherous machinations of his envious lieutenant, Iago. The Moors were the Muslim inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula and other parts of the Christian Mediterranean, usually of Arab or Berber descent, who remained in parts of Europe from which earlier Muslim invaders and inhabitants had been forcibly ejected via war or later persecution and pogroms. The term was used indiscriminately in medieval and early modern Europe to refer to a wide range of Muslim and African peoples and the Moors were never a self-identifying, unified ethnic or religious group.

Historically, Othello has been portrayed as both an Arab and a black African, although in recent times, actors of African and Afro-Caribbean descent have usually portrayed Othello. There is a long history of white actors ‘blacking up’ for the part, which was the norm until surprisingly recently; the first black Othello to appear at the National Theatre was David Harewood in 1997. In the same year, Patrick Stewart controversially played Othello in a ‘photo negative’ production in Washington D.C., in which all of the characters except Othello were black. Given the ongoing scarcity of major roles for black actors, Othello has become a much coveted, illustrious role for black male actors. Othello’s ethnicity and its relationship to his jealousy, rage and murderousness remain ambivalent in the play and contemporary portrayals of Othello usually present him as the dupe of Iago’s wily manipulation. Iago’s paucity of motivation – he briefly refers to a sketchy suspicion that Othello has slept with his wife, Emilia – make Iago’s burning hatred and coolly calculated and executed manipulations a source of enduring psychology fascination and have ensured the role has become the equal of Othello.

In his debut with Tower, Ray Johnson is a confident, authoritative and emotionally multifaceted Othello. This is a deeply impressive, astute performance, with Johnson moving easefully and self-assuredly between the different emotional registers of Othello’s complex character, from the uxorious husband and decorated general to the jealousy-consumed doubter and cold-hearted murderer. Johnson captures Othello’s painful descent into jealous madness while retaining the character’s grief-stricken tragic dignity.

Matching Johnson is Martin Maynard, also making his Tower debut, with a calmly vicious, vengefully manipulative Iago, equally assured as one of the lads and a trusted adviser to the top brass. Maynard presents Iago as a bitter, sardonic villain who disbelieves that even his wife or his closest friend have any true regard for him and so can only manipulate and destroy. Amy Wackett’s Desdemona is believably loving, guileless and increasingly confused and frightened. She maintains Desdemona’s faithful lovingness until the end, imbuing her final moments with pathos and horror.

There is also notably strong support from Emily Carmichael as a spirited Emilia, whose speech to Desdemona on the patriarchal double standard remains one of the most exciting, pertinent female speeches in Shakespeare, and from Ahmed Green, another Tower newcomer, as the baffled, foolish Roderigo. The entire cast work hard to present their characters with clarity, sympathy and coherence.

Lily Ann Green’s admirable production is agile, pacey, intelligent and richly textured. I particularly enjoyed the attention to detail, with purposeful background action and strong movement, which evokes an entire world. The updating works well, with iPads and mobile phones used with intelligence and humour. The impressive, split-level set – skilfully designed by Michael Bettell and Nicole Figini – evokes a military world of bivouacs and fortifications, while the lighting design, by Alan Wilkinson, adroitly creates murky scenes in which villainies are easily committed. The production's evocation of a believably militaristic world is amply aided by Lynda Twydale's effective and impressive costume design.

There have been four previous productions of Othello by the Tower Theatre Company : in 1934 - with interval music by the composer Michael Tippett (often ranked with Benjamin Britten as the greatest British composer born in the early twentieth century); 1959; 1969 (with Emmy and Bafta nominated Alfred Molina in an early bit role); and 1982. There is no doubt that this fifth production will join its illustrious predecessors as a memorable version of this enduring tragedy.