Ira Aldridge as Othello. Image courtesy of Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library In 1831 he took the name Keene, a homonym for the then famous actor ...

Ira Aldridge was famously the first black actor to play Othello, and here we see him performing that very part at the Theatre Royal in Doncaster in 1841. What’s noticeable about our featured ...

Though played with bone-deep conviction by Lester — who also memorably portrayed Aldridge, the first Black Othello on London stages, in the historic play “Red Velvet”— this Othello never ...

Southbank Theatre Company will present Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti, opening April 24 and running Thursdays through ...

Ira Frederick Aldridge (1807-1867) was an American-born British actor, playwright, and theatre manager. Aldridge, who was well known for his portrayal of Shakespearean characters, was the first Black ...