A first aid box sat on the table between actors Victor Power and Richard Kidd. As they were about to go into their first fight rehearsals for Creation Theatre’s new production of Othello when we met up, this seemed rather a wise precaution.

Victor is playing Othello himself — a successful, yet insecure man, married to a much younger woman. Richard plays Iago, who is jealous of that success. He’s determined to hit Othello where it hurts, so he plants viperous seeds of jealousy.

Could Iago, I asked Richard, be described as Shakespeare’s biggest, well, s**t?

“It’s true. But he can always justify to himself the reasons for doing what he does. As for the biggest s**t, that’s between him and Richard III, isn’t it? With Richard III, a lot of people play him as a hunchback, and his bitterness comes through that: I think the way Olivier played Richard still affects actors today.

“But Iago is doing really well, he’s on a good pay scale. As long as he keeps on doing what he’s doing, things are going to get better and better for him. But he’s just evil. It’s the big question that everybody asks about Iago, and it’ll never be answered — everyone leaves a performance asking, ‘why did he do that?’. It makes people come back: just to see another person’s take on why he behaves as he does.”

The Merchant of Venice is now regarded as a problem play because of its anti-semitic overtones. In the 21st century, how does Othello fare on the racism front?

“It’s still a factor,” Victor replied. “But when you look at the whole broad scheme of Othello, there are so many other issues in there as well. I think it depends on where you are performing the play. In Britain, you can look at it historically, while in, say, South Africa, or America, the racism issue would have a much bigger impact.

“But it’s never to be dismissed, or belittled if you like. For audiences who come to see this production, I think the bigger issue will be sexual jealousy, and how Othello reacts to his wife.”

“Othello is EastEnders really,” Richard added, “It’s jealousy, betrayal, murder.”

The Creation Othello is being performed in New Road Baptist Church, in Oxford’s recently revamped Bonn Square. The church is still very much an active place of worship, so I wondered how much the production would be affected by the location. “It’s impossible to deny that you are playing in a church, even if you try your hardest,” Victor said.

“Even in your mind’s eye you see a crucifix. There are so many references to church and religion within the play anyway, it’s impossible to ignore. And we’ve created a dynamic with the design and the setting.

“To me, working in a church actually helps the play,”

Richard added: “From my point of view, Iago not only teases everybody else in the play, he also teases God. He says, ‘heaven is my judge’ to Rodrigo. And later he proclaims, ‘I am the Devil’.

“To say those lines in a church is going to cause some feelings, I think.”

Richard Kidd has made his home in Oxford, and has been with Creation, literally, come rain, come shine. Does he wake up each morning thinking, “thank goodness we’re going to be performing under cover this time around”?

“I love working for Creation. They give so many opportunities to people like me, straight out of drama school, to play roles of this magnitude. At the National, for instance, they’ve got people like Ian McKellen to do it. I’m not going to get the chance to play Iago there.

“It’s also great that Creation doesn’t have a set place where they always perform. When you’ve got a lovely summer’s night, it’s beautiful to do A Midsummer Night’s Dream outdoors in the park. But when the rain comes — well, after the last two summers, maybe somebody is trying to tell me something. Perhaps I should look for another career! So yes, there is something very appealing about the fact that this time we don’t have to worry about any of that.”

Othello and Iago are very intense characters. I wondered how easy Victor and Richard found it to leave their parts behind them once they complete a day in the rehearsal room, or they have finished a performance.

“I wouldn’t want to take Othello home with me,” Victor laughed. “Some of the characteristics you build in may have come from your own experiences of life, but at the end of a day you must let it go.”

Richard added: “We sometimes go to the pub next door and talk about something completely different. We have a bit of fun. It was a Chinese last night, and some karaoke afterwards.”

lOthello opens tomorrow at the New Road Baptist Church, Bonn Square, Oxford. Performances continue until May 30. Tickets are available from 01865 766266, or online at creationtheatre.co.uk