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Description
Red Velvet uses imagined experiences based on the often-forgotten, but true, story of Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor who, in the nineteenth century, built an incredible reputation on the stages of London and Europe.
This Student Edition, with an introduction and notes by Lydia Valentine, considers the way Alridge used theatre and Shakespeare as spaces of racial activism; how white actors were viewed as superior Shakespearean actors by virtue of their race; the legacy of Ira Aldridge and his influences today; and the performance history of the play and how it has impacted the way we talk about Black performance histories.
It includes an original interview with the playwright Lolita Chakrabarti and the original director, Indhu Rubasingham.
Table of Contents
Who was Ira Aldridge?
Historical, Social and Cultural Contexts
> Race, Shakespeare and Othello
> Race and Performance in the Nineteenth Century
> Black Shakespeare: Making Ira Aldridge Visible
Red Velvet in Performance
> Temporality
> Sound
> Metatheatricality
> Staging the Characters
Performance History and Critical Reception
Themes
> Tradition
> Anti-Black Racism and Stereotypes of Black Masculinity
> Forgotten Histories
> Englishness and National Identity
RED VELVET
Notes
Product details
| Published | 15 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|
| Format | Paperback |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 144 |
| ISBN | 9781350497689 |
| Imprint | Methuen Drama |
| Dimensions | 198 x 129 mm |
| Series | Student Editions |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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