Red Velvet is a 2012 play by Lolita Chakrabarti, dealing with the biography of the 19th century actor Ira Aldridge and his taking the role of Othello . It premiered at the Tricycle Theatre, London (directed by its new artistic director Indhu Rubasingham) from 11 October to 24 November 2012, with Aldridge played by Adrian Lester. [1] [2] Lester revived his role when the Tricycle Theatre Production collaborated with Kenneth Branagh Company’s season at the West End's Garrick theatre in 2016. [3] It has since been produced by several theatres in the United States [4] [5] and Canada. [6]
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Stratford-upon-Avon, and on tour across the UK and internationally.
Richard Burbage was an English stage actor, widely considered to have been one of the most famous actors of the Globe Theatre and of his time. In addition to being a stage actor, he was also a theatre owner, entrepreneur, and painter. He was the younger brother of Cuthbert Burbage. They were both actors in drama. Burbage was a business associate and friend to William Shakespeare.
The King's Men was the acting company to which William Shakespeare (1564–1616) belonged for most of his career. Formerly known as the Lord Chamberlain's Men during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, they became the King's Men in 1603 when King James I ascended the throne and became the company's patron.
The Lord Chamberlain's Men was a company of actors, or a "playing company", for which William Shakespeare wrote during most of his career. Richard Burbage played most of the lead roles, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. Formed at the end of a period of flux in the theatrical world of London, it had become, by 1603, one of the two leading companies of the city and was subsequently patronized by James I.
The Kiln Theatre is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as new writing, political work and verbatim reconstructions of public inquiries.
Ira Frederick Aldridge was an American-born British actor, playwright, and theatre manager, known for his portrayal of Shakespearean characters. James Hewlett and Aldridge are regarded as the first Black American tragedians.
Adrian Anthony Lester is a British actor. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the London stage, and has also been nominated for a Tony Award.
Joseph Marcell is a Saint Lucian-British actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Geoffrey Butler, the butler on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from September 1990 until the show ended in May 1996.
Slings & Arrows is a Canadian television series set at the fictional New Burbage Festival, a Shakespearean festival similar to the real-world Stratford Festival. It stars Paul Gross, Stephen Ouimette and Martha Burns. Rachel McAdams appeared in the first season.
Lolita Chakrabarti is a British actress and writer.
Othello is the titular protagonist in Shakespeare's Othello. The character's origin is traced to the tale "Un Capitano Moro" in Gli Hecatommithi by Giovanni Battista Giraldi Cinthio. There, he is simply referred to as the Moor.
I'll Be The Devil is a play by Leo Butler commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and written in response to The Tempest by William Shakespeare. It was staged for the first time at the Tricycle Theatre in 2008, directed by Ramin Gray. It featured Derbhle Crotty, Tom Burke, John McInerny, and Gerard Murphy.
Lucian Gabriel Wiina Msamati is a British actor, writer, director and producer known for his work in theatre, film, television and radio. His notable screen roles include Salladhor Saan in the HBO series Game of Thrones, J.L.B. Matekoni in the BBC/HBO adaptation of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, David Runihura in the Netflix/BBC thriller Black Earth Rising and Ed Dumani in the Sky/AMC series Gangs of London.
Indhu Rubasingham,, is a British theatre director and the current artistic director of the Kiln Theatre in Kilburn, London. In December 2023, it was announced she would take over as Artistic Director of the National Theatre in 2025 from Rufus Norris.
The 2012 Evening Standard Theatre Awards were announced on 25 November 2012. The shortlist was revealed on 12 November 2012 and the longlist on 29 October 2012.
Pippa Nixon is an English actress. She trained at Manchester School of Theatre.
Robin Belfield is a British-Bahamian theatre writer, director, educator and producer. He has worked with amongst others the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Globe Theatre, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, The Oxford School of Drama and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
Natasha Delia Letitia Gordon is a British playwright of Jamaican heritage. In 2018, after a career as an actor, she made her debut as a playwright with the play Nine Night, becoming the first black British female playwright to have a play staged in the West End.
The Height of the Storm is a play by Florian Zeller which follows a couple looking back at 50 years of marriage and realising their relationship may not be as perfect as they expected.
Martina Laird is a Trinidadian British actress of stage, film and television.