Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti
At the Old Globe in Balboa Park
Performances run March 25 – April 30 2017
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By Antoinette Genevieve
An exceptional theater experience, Red Velvet is a captivating reminder of why we all love the theater. Not only does it pull motifs from a classic play, it also touches on history, love, and taboo topics. Brilliantly centering the plot on the true story of Ira Aldridge, this play gives the audience more than a story, it gives us all a reason to champion causes greater than ourselves. The intimate nature of the Old Globe stage allows for a personal experience, you can feel the actors’ passion and pain, which continuously adds to the intensity of their animated emotions.
“This stirring drama transports audiences to the turbulent backstage world of London’s Theatre Royal in the early 1800s. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, can’t go on tonight as Othello, and his company is in disarray. A young American actor named Ira Aldridge arrives to step into the role—but no black man has ever played Othello on the English stage. His groundbreaking performance upends stage tradition and changes the lives of everyone involved. Lolita Chakrabarti’s multi-award-winning play uncovers the fascinating true story of a pivotal figure in theatre history. In-demand director Stafford Arima (Allegiance) returns to The Old Globe with a stunningly theatrical production of a play that the London Telegraph called “informative, entertaining, and thought-provoking.”
Red Velvet received its world premiere on the stages of London October 2012, starring Adrian Lester as Ira Aldridge. Quite the treat for the Old Globe, this edition will be running until the end of the month.