Booking to 27 February 2016
Kenneth Branagh transfers the acclaimed Tricycle Theatre production of Red Velvet starring Adrian Lester to the Garrick Theatre.
This multi-award winning play, which originally premiered at the Tricycle Theatre, before transferring to St Ann’s Warehouse in New York, will be the third production in the Plays at the Garrick Season and will be directed by Indhu Rubasingha. Olivier-Award winner Adrian Lester will reprise his role as Ira Aldridge.
Playwright Lolita Chakrabarti’s Red Velvet is an entertaining and illuminating play of imagined experiences based on the true story of Ira Aldridge – an American actor who was asked to take over the role of Othello in a Theatre Royal stage production, a remarkable thing, for he lived in the 19th century and happened to be a black man.
Red Velvet will play a limited run from 23 January 2016 until 27 February 2016 at the Garrick Theatre.
STORY
Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, 1833. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, has collapsed on stage whilst 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?
CAST
Olivier-award winner Adrian Lester will lead the cast.
The full cast includes: Ayesha Antoine (Connie), Simon Chandler (Bernard Warde/Terence), Alexander Cobb (Henry Forrester/Casimir), Mark Edel-Hunt (Charles Kean), Emun Elliott (Pierre Laporte), Charlotte Lucas (Ellen Tree), Caroline Martin (Halina Wozniak/Margaret Aldridge) and Amy Morgan (Betty Lovell).
CREATIVE TEAM
Lolita Chakrabarti’s play will be directed by Indhu Rubasingham.
REVIEWS
★★★★ ‘Informative, entertaining, thought-provoking and beautifully played. Highly recommended’ The Telegraph
★★★★ ‘Lester’s magnificent acting makes you nostalgic for a vanished gestural style’ The Guardian
★★★★ ‘A performance of eloquent intensity — noble and detailed but with fire at its core.’ Evening Standard
★★★★ ‘A triumphant return for Adrian Lester as pioneering black actor Ira Aldridge.’ Time Out
Show Information
Venue Information
Garrick Theatre, 2 Charing Cross Road, London, WC2H 0HHNearest Tube or Train: Charing Cross (Northern line, Bakerloo line), Embankment (Northern line, Bakerloo line, District line, Circle line), Leicester Square (Northern line, Piccadilly line)
Nearest Buses: 3, 6, 9, 12, 13, 15, 24, 29, 30
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