Independent Theatre Inc. Presents RED VELVET

When, in 1933, the legendary African American actor/singer, Paul Robeson, played Othello in London, it was seen by audiences and critics alike as being a landmark in theatre history - and very shocking! Especially when he kissed British actress Peggy Ashcroft! The role of Shakespeare's "Moor" had always been played by white actors in black makeup.

Or so they thought! What many people in 1933 didn't realise, was that Robeson was not creating history. That had actually been done a hundred years before, by an American actor of African descent called IRA ALDRIDGE.

Having played Shakespeare in New York, Aldridge moved to England in 1824. He acted, to great acclaim, in provincial theatres, and even in minor houses in London.

However, in 1833, when the great English actor, Edmund Kean, collapsed on stage at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden, Ira was invited to play Othello for the first time in one of the two major theatres in London.

This was at the time when the British Parliament was debating the abolition of slavery, and pro- and anti-abolition protests were raging in the streets.

The public reaction was hugely supportive. They had never seen a performance like it before.

The press reaction, however, was something else. Financed by interests dependent on the slave trade, they savaged Aldridge's performance. The reviews - which are quoted at some length in the play - are truly shocking in the virulence of their racism. The comments were along the lines of "If we let a black man play Othello, then what's next? A Jew playing Shylock?" Aldridge's highly intelligent and articulate performance undercut all their pro-slavery arguments of the intellectual inferiority of the black races.

English playwright and actress, Lolita Chakrabarti, has been fascinated with Aldridge's story for some years, and wrote this amazing new play for her husband, Adrian Lester (star of British television's Hustle). It premiered in London in 2012, winning Lester the Olivier Awards' "Best Actor" award.

Another Australian Premiere for Independent Theatre

Independent Theatre's production of RED VELVET is the play's Australian Premiere, and stars SHEDRICK YARKPAI, himself the first African-born actor to play Othello in Australia.

Director Rob Croser says: "What makes RED VELVET so brilliant is that - while treating the main theme with the seriousness is requires and deserves - it is also hilariously funny, as it takes a very satirical backstage look at the foibles and monstrous egos of 'theatre folk'."

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