Red Velvet

Red Velvet is a play about the abolition of slavery and the reaction of the theatre community to it. It is based on the true story of Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor who built an incredible reputation around the world. The play premiered at the Tricycle Theatre in London in October 2012 and features an introduction by Kenneth Branagh.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 112 pages
Publication date: 03 September 2020
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

“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,” writes Kenneth Branagh in his introduction to Red Velvet, a new Modern Classics edition of the play. “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.

Weight: 102g
Dimension: 129 x 197 x 10 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350149137