British Actor Adrian Lester Portrays 19th Century U.S. Born African Shakespeare Star In Europe
Adrian Lester, a British actor who appeared in the BBC TV series, Hustle, and the film, Primary Colors, is currently portraying a 19th century African-American actor who became a leading Shakespearean actor in Europe in the American premiere of the play Red Velvet, at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn.
The play—which won numerous awards for Lester and the playwright, Lolita Chakrabarti (who is Lester’s wife) in Great Britain, where it was first performed—is based on the true story of Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor who was tapped to play Othello at Covent Garden in 1833, when the British Empire was deeply divided over the issue of abolition.
Aldridge moved from his native New York to Great Britain in 1824, eager to pursue a career as a classical actor. When Edmund Kean, considered the greatest actor of his generation, collapsed onstage while playing Othello at Covent Garden, Aldridge was invited to take over the role. Stunning audiences and critics with his performance, he later toured Europe, winning a host of awards and honors for his acting, including the Prussian gold medal for his services to the arts and a knighthood. Before his death in 1867, he had a repertoire of 40 plays, performing in two or three of them in one evening.
Lester said Aldridge’s story is “universal. It’s about someone who has a dream, talent, ability, who wants to create a space, realize potential. It touches everybody in the audience.”
Lester said the type of acting performed in Aldridge’s day is “our model for bad acting, big arms, big facial gestures and voice. The challenge for us was that we had to adopt the style of acting for that period, and also had to make sure that people wouldn’t laugh, that the modern audience would be moved and engaged by that kind of acting. We wanted to show the skill behind the acting.”
He said his performance of Aldridge’s portrayal of Othello was “like a piece of choreography, like singing a song. I’ve done the scene in a modern Othello at the National Theatre in London, but doing it like this, I was very aware it was like a piece of dance, or a piece of music you have to sing. In the modern Othello there are breaking rhythms and moments that added to the immediacy, naturalism.”
In Red Velvet, he said, “we are creating the most exaggerated 19th century acting style and poses. How we use words creates our own kind of music.”
For audiences in Britain, Lester said “Ira is a foreigner, there’s an affinity with the upper-class English people on the stage,” while in Brooklyn “everyone sees the play through Ira’s eyes, the English people are foreigners.“
He said there has been “some interest” in turning the play into a film, “but nothing concrete yet,” while the possibility of its transferring to Broadway has also been reported.
Biography of Ira Aldridge
Ira Frederick Aldridge was the first African American actor to achieve success on the international stage, performing before Kings and Queens all over Europe, becoming known as the preeminent Shakespearean actor and tragedian of the 19th Century. He was born in Maryland. His father, a lay preacher, sent him to the African Free School in New York. Young Ira was attracted to the African Grove Theatre, the first ever black theatre founded by William Henry Brown in 1821. He apprenticed under James Hewlett, the first African American Shakespearean actor. Realizing he could not achieve success in the United States, young Ira Aldridge worked his passage to Liverpool, England as a ship’s steward.
From the mid 1820s to 1860 Ira Aldridge slowly forged a remarkable career. He performed in London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Bath, and Bristol in King Lear, Othello, MacBeth, and The Merchant of Venice. He also freely adapted classical plays, changing characters, eliminating scenes and installing new ones, even from other plays. In 1852 he embarked on a series of continental tours that intermittently would last until the end of his life. He performed his full repertoire in Prussia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and Poland. Some of the honors he received include the Prussian Gold Medal for Arts and Sciences from King Frederick, the Golden Cross of Leopold from the Czar of Russia, and the Maltese Cross from Berne, Switzerland. Mr. Aldridge died while on tour in Lodz, Poland.
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| Ira Aldridge, a 19th century African actor born in the United States, who traveled to Europe and pursued a Shakespearean career on stage. |
The play—which won numerous awards for Lester and the playwright, Lolita Chakrabarti (who is Lester’s wife) in Great Britain, where it was first performed—is based on the true story of Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor who was tapped to play Othello at Covent Garden in 1833, when the British Empire was deeply divided over the issue of abolition.
Aldridge moved from his native New York to Great Britain in 1824, eager to pursue a career as a classical actor. When Edmund Kean, considered the greatest actor of his generation, collapsed onstage while playing Othello at Covent Garden, Aldridge was invited to take over the role. Stunning audiences and critics with his performance, he later toured Europe, winning a host of awards and honors for his acting, including the Prussian gold medal for his services to the arts and a knighthood. Before his death in 1867, he had a repertoire of 40 plays, performing in two or three of them in one evening.
Lester said Aldridge’s story is “universal. It’s about someone who has a dream, talent, ability, who wants to create a space, realize potential. It touches everybody in the audience.”
Lester said the type of acting performed in Aldridge’s day is “our model for bad acting, big arms, big facial gestures and voice. The challenge for us was that we had to adopt the style of acting for that period, and also had to make sure that people wouldn’t laugh, that the modern audience would be moved and engaged by that kind of acting. We wanted to show the skill behind the acting.”
He said his performance of Aldridge’s portrayal of Othello was “like a piece of choreography, like singing a song. I’ve done the scene in a modern Othello at the National Theatre in London, but doing it like this, I was very aware it was like a piece of dance, or a piece of music you have to sing. In the modern Othello there are breaking rhythms and moments that added to the immediacy, naturalism.”
In Red Velvet, he said, “we are creating the most exaggerated 19th century acting style and poses. How we use words creates our own kind of music.”
For audiences in Britain, Lester said “Ira is a foreigner, there’s an affinity with the upper-class English people on the stage,” while in Brooklyn “everyone sees the play through Ira’s eyes, the English people are foreigners.“
He said there has been “some interest” in turning the play into a film, “but nothing concrete yet,” while the possibility of its transferring to Broadway has also been reported.
Biography of Ira Aldridge
Ira Frederick Aldridge was the first African American actor to achieve success on the international stage, performing before Kings and Queens all over Europe, becoming known as the preeminent Shakespearean actor and tragedian of the 19th Century. He was born in Maryland. His father, a lay preacher, sent him to the African Free School in New York. Young Ira was attracted to the African Grove Theatre, the first ever black theatre founded by William Henry Brown in 1821. He apprenticed under James Hewlett, the first African American Shakespearean actor. Realizing he could not achieve success in the United States, young Ira Aldridge worked his passage to Liverpool, England as a ship’s steward.
From the mid 1820s to 1860 Ira Aldridge slowly forged a remarkable career. He performed in London, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Bath, and Bristol in King Lear, Othello, MacBeth, and The Merchant of Venice. He also freely adapted classical plays, changing characters, eliminating scenes and installing new ones, even from other plays. In 1852 he embarked on a series of continental tours that intermittently would last until the end of his life. He performed his full repertoire in Prussia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and Poland. Some of the honors he received include the Prussian Gold Medal for Arts and Sciences from King Frederick, the Golden Cross of Leopold from the Czar of Russia, and the Maltese Cross from Berne, Switzerland. Mr. Aldridge died while on tour in Lodz, Poland.
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