Red Velvet

Lolita Chakrabarti's internationally celebrated play about Ira Aldridge, the black American actor who revolutionized the theatre industry in the mid 1800s.

“Chakrabarti has crafted a rich psychological study that’s also a shrewd portrait of the theatre as an institution — its vanities and strange conventions, its politics and sense of community, the opportunities it presents for both progress and blinkered traditionalism.” Evening Standard

Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, 1833. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, has collapsed on stage while playing Othello. A young Black American actor has been asked to take over the role. But as the public riot in the streets over the abolition of slavery, how will the cast, critics and audience react to the revolution taking place in the theatre?

Based on the true story of Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor who, in the 19th century, built an incredible reputation around the world. Red Velvet premiered at the Tricycle Theatre, London, in October 2012.

This new Modern Classics edition features an introduction by Kenneth Branagh.