Early Buzz: Red Velvet
Following a successful world premiere at London’s Tricycle Theatre in the Fall of 2012, Lolita Chakrabarti’s Red Velvet, starring Adrian Lester, is set to premiere in New York at St. Ann’s Warehouse this spring.
Red Velvet imagines the experience of Ira Aldridge–a young, black, American actor–as he takes the stage to play Othello at London’s Theatre Royal in 1833. Red Velvet is based on the true story of Aldridge, who replaces “the greatest actor his generation” Edmund Kean in Othello, after Kean collapses on stage. It is set against the riots that followed the abolition of the Slavery Act.
Red Velvet and Lester’s performance in particular were raved about in London. For more information, listen to Maxamoo’s podcast “Looking harder for more diverse theater, Part 1” and checkout the news and reviews from the run in London.
TICKETS
$45-$75 (click here for tickets)
DATES
March 25 – April 20, 2014
LOCATION
St. Ann’s Warehouse
29 Jay Street
Brooklyn, NY
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RUNNING TIME
2 hours and 15 minutes, one intermission
NEWS & REVIEWS
News
The Guardian
Adrian Lester on how to be a great stage actor: hunch over and bellow
The Independent
‘It’s about pushing boundaries’: Indhu Rubasingham on her rise to artistic director
Ideas Tap
Playwright Lolita Chakrabarti on researching ‘Red Velvet’
The Independent
Lolita Chakrabarti, ‘Red Velvet’, and what’s wrong with theatre today
Reviews
Fall 2012 London run:
The Independent
The surprise casting of a Victorian production is Lolita Chakrabarti’s cue for a layered and revealing play, superbly acted
The Guardian
‘Red Velvet’ . . . puts prejudice – racial and sexual – on trial, but it does so with imaginative flourishes, and extends its inquiry beyond the obviously political. Lolita Chakrabarti’s play has a towering central performance from Adrian Lester. Rubasingham’s production glows.
The Telegraph
Chakrabarti’s dialogue too often sounds a jarringly modern note, but she tells her story with clarity and wit and Lester’s superb performance, with its mixture of power, dignity and injured pride, suggests that his Othello will be something very special indeed.
The Evening Standard
An arresting and sometimes very funny play, cogently performed, appealingly designed, and neatly directed by Rubasingham herself.
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written by Lolita Chakrabarti
Directed by Indhu Rubasingham
Featuring Simon Chandler, Rachel Finnegan, Natasha Gordon, Nic Jackman, Adrian Lester , Charlotte Lucas, Eugene O’Hare, and Oliver Ryan