CurtainUp
CurtainUp

The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features, Annotated Listings
www.curtainup.com


HOME PAGE

SITE GUIDE

SEARCH

REVIEWS

REVIEW ARCHIVES

ADVERTISING AT CURTAINUP

FEATURES

NEWS
Etcetera and
Short Term Listings


LISTINGS
Broadway
Off-Broadway

NYC Restaurants

BOOKS and CDs

OTHER PLACES
Berkshires
London
California
New Jersey
DC
Connecticut
Philadelphia
Elsewhere

QUOTES

TKTS

PLAYWRIGHTS' ALBUMS

LETTERS TO EDITOR

FILM

LINKS

MISCELLANEOUS
Free Updates
Masthead
Writing for Us
A CurtainUp London London Review
Red Velvet


To act spontaneously one needs to know exactly what is coming. — Ellen Tree
Red Velvet
(Photo: Tristram Kenton)
Lolita Chakrabarti's first play opens Indhu Rubasingham's tenure at the Tricycle Theatre in North London starring Lolita's husband Adrian Lester as the black nineteenth century actor Ira Aldridge. The play opens in 1867 in the last days of Ira's life when touring Eastern Europe, he is being interviewed by a Polish reporter Halina Wozniak (Rachel Finnegan).

To the rear of the stage is a beautiful, swagged red velvet theatre curtain and the cast bring in the props creating historical atmosphere. The elderly actor is reluctant to be interviewed and quite bombastic; after all he is the highest paid artist in Russia. The story of his career is framed by one of the Polish journalists breaking into a profession despite her gender.

The scene goes back more than 30 years to London where the great Edmund Kean is ill having collapsed onstage and was due to play the role of Othello, the Moor at Covent Garden. Kean's son Charles (Ryan Kiggell) normally plays Iago and is ready to take the title role when Pierre Laporte (Eugene O'Hare), the manager says he has engaged another actor, an American who has had good reviews elsewhere. They are shocked when they discover that Ira Aldridge is a black actor, they had thought dark was an allusion to the style of the play. Set in the context of the debate on the abolition of slavery of 1833 in England and the colonies, Ira's casting prompts a vehement reaction.

We are treated to a full rehearsal of the handkerchief scene. As the actors rehearse we see the stylised, gesture ridden school of declamatory acting used in the 2000 seat theatre. Ira Aldridge insists on playing the part realistically but the physicality of his acting and the alleged bruises left on Desdemona played by Ellen Tree (Charlotte Lucas) engenders terrible racism from the critics and results in the closure of the theatre. It is quite shocking and distressing to hear what was said at the time by the dehumanising newspaper critics. Wounded, Ira decides to leave London and will never play Covent Garden again but has a very good career on the European continent.

The play is stuffed full with theatrical pleasers and jokes with Ferdinand Kingsley as bit part actor Henry Forrester in wonderful striped trousers, networking to increase his opportunities and the very unsympathetic Kean nephew set against Aldridge from the off. We meet Ira's English wife Margaret (Rachel Finnegan) and Pierre and Ira debate the public reaction to a realistic Othello. Indhu Rubasingham directs with many of the cast lining the edges of the stage, watching as if in rehearsal.

Adrian Lester will play Othello at the National directed by Nicholas Hytner next April and this performance will be eagerly anticipated given the context of Red Velvet. We see him as Ira Aldridge as a young actor, and as an old experienced one, painstakingly putting on white makeup and a white wig for the part of Lear. We hear about Ira's passion for the theatre and for the realism of interpreting the text and his unwillingness to compromise his principles even for his friend Pierre. Charlotte Lucas is interesting as Ira's Desdemona as she crosses her fiancé, a grumpy Charles Kean played by Ryan Kiggell. A black maid Connie (Natasha Gordon) observes from the wings.

Red Velvet made me want to know more about Ira Aldridge and I hope to see more of Lolita Chakrabarti's writing in future.

Subscribe to our FREE email updates with a note from editor Elyse Sommer about additions to the website -- with main page hot links to the latest features posted at our numerous locations. To subscribe, E-mail: esommer@curtainup.comesommer@curtainup.com
put SUBSCRIBE CURTAINUP EMAIL UPDATE in the subject line and your full name and email address in the body of the message -- if you can spare a minute, tell us how you came to CurtainUp and from what part of the country.
Red Velvet
Written by Lolita Chakrabarti
Directed by Indhu Rubasingham

Starring: Adrian Lester, Charlotte Lucas
With: Rachel Finnegan, Simon Chandler, Natasha Gordon, Ryan Kiggell, Eugene O'Hare
Designed by Tom Piper
Lighting: Oliver Fenwick
Sound: Paul Arditti
Composer: Paul Englishby
Choreography: Imogen Knight
Running time: Two hours 10 minutes with one interval
Box Office: 020 7328 1000
Booking to 10th November 2012
Reviewed by Lizzie Loveridge based on 16th October 2012 performance at the Tricycle Theatre, 269 Kilburn High Road London NW6 7JR(Tube: Kilburn)

REVIEW FEEDBACK
Highlight one of the responses below and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
  • I agree with the review of Red Velvet
  • I disagree with the review of Red Velvet
  • The review made me eager to see Red Velvet
Click on the address link E-mail: esommer@curtainup.com
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V):

Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the email . . . also the names and emails of any friends to whom you'd like us to forward a copy of this review.

London Theatre Walks


Peter Ackroyd's  History of London: The Biography



London Sketchbook



tales from shakespeare
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co.
Click image to buy.
Our Review


©Copyright 2012, Elyse Sommer.
Information from this site may not be reproduced in print or online without specific permission from esommer@curtainup.com