An evening honouring the achievements of African-American actor Ira Aldridge who became manager of Coventry Theatre in 1828 is to be held at the city’s Belgrade.
Against Prejudice—Ira Aldridge in Coventry 1828 will include an evening performance in the Belgrade’s B2 auditorium by a professional and community cast. It will be followed by a procession through the streets of Coventry.
During the event, the company will perform extracts from The Slave by Thomas Morton, one of several plays Aldridge programmed at Coventry Theatre during his one season as manager.
The procession will go to the site of the playhouse where Aldridge and the local community made history. There will be scenes, speeches and songs from Aldridge’s Coventry season. There will also be talks from a leading researcher on Aldridge, Professor Tony Howard from the University of Warwick.
He said, “it’s an astonishing story. Adrian Lester has just played Ira Aldridge in London and New York and reminded the world of the achievements of a very great actor.
“But the fact that at the age of only 20 Ira—young, gifted and black—was handed Coventry’s Theatre to run is truly remarkable. He presented plays that attacked slavery and at the same time he raised the standards of a run-down company in crisis.”
Laura McMillan, manager of the Coventry City of Culture Trust, added, “Aldridge’s links to the city have been largely anonymous over the years, so we’re thrilled to be playing our part in commemorating the impact he had here and on a much wider scale.”
Aldridge is also thought to be the first black actor to play Othello in this country, in October 1825.
His performances divided audiences and aroused racist hostility. One campaigner threatened him with “damnation” and described his appearance as Othello as a “heinous offence”. Yet he was heralded across Europe as one of the great Shakespeare actors of the 19th century and influenced Stanislavsky’s theatre in Russia.
Against Prejudice—Ira Aldridge in Coventry 1828 will be staged on Thursday 17 November. Tickets are free although they must be booked in advance by calling the Belgrade’s box office on 024 7655 3055 or at the Belgrade Theatre web site.