British Black and Asian Shakespeareans: Integrating Shakespeare, 19662018 (Arden Shakespeare)

"Shakespeare is at the heart of the British theatrical tradition, but the contribution of Ira Aldridge and the Shakespearean performers of African, Afro-Caribbean and Asian heritage who came after him is not widely known. Telling the story for the first time of how Shakespearean theatre was integrated from the 1960s to the twenty-first century, this is a timely and important account of that contribution. Drawing extensively on empirical evidence from the British Black and Asian Shakespeare Performance Database and featuring interviews with many performers, the book chronicles important productions that led to ground-breaking castings of black and Asian actors in substantial Shakespearean roles including: Zakes Mokae (Cry Freedom) as one of three black Witches in William Gaskill's production of Macbeth, Royal Court Theatre, London, 1966 - Norman Beaton as Angelo in Michael Rudman's 1981 Measure for Measure at the National Theatre, the first majority black Shakespearean cast at the National Theatre - Adrian Lester as Henry V in Nicholas Hytner's 2003 production. Detailing the earliest recorded castings of black and Asian performers in Shakespeare's roles, this illuminating account illustrates the various ways in which black and Asian actors have been integrated into contemporary Shakespearean productions. With first-hand accounts from key performers including Joseph Marcell, Adrian Lester, Noma Dumezweni, Rakie Ayola, Ray Fearon, Paterson Joseph, Lucian Msamati and many more, this book is an invaluable history of black and Asian Shakespeareans that highlights the gains these actors have made and the challenges still faced in pursuing a career in classical theatre."-- Provided by publisher Cover Contents List of ­figures List of tables Acknowledgements Notes Abbreviations Introduction: Forgotten Shakespeareans Shakespearean pioneers, 1866–1947 Shakespearean pioneers, 1950–1965 1 ‘Difficult to justify this casting without sounding racist’: breakthroughs and stereotypes, 1966–1972 Macbeth, Royal Court, 1966 The Tempest, Mermaid Theatre, 1970 The Black Macbeth, Roundhouse Theatre, London, 1972 ‘Difficult to justify this casting without sounding racist’ 2 ‘Why weren’t we auditioned?’: the ‘Black canon’ and the battle for Othello ‘Why weren’t we auditioned?’ Reclaiming Othello 3 From ‘suitable roles’ to leads, 1980–1987 ‘Black roles’ at the RSC Macbeth, Young Vic, 1984 Leading roles, 1984 Rosaline, RSC, 1984 ‘Othello was an Arab’, RSC, 1985 Emergence of a new ‘Black canon’ RSC 1986 ‘They’re nurturing you’ Antony, Contact Theatre, 1987 Isabella, RSC, 1987 Julius Caesar, Bristol Old Vic, 1987 4 Owning Shakespeare – Temba, Talawa and Tara Arts, 1988–1994 Romeo and Juliet, Temba, 1988 Antony and Cleopatra, Talawa, 1991 Troilus and Cressida, Tara Arts, 1993 King Lear, Talawa, 1994 5 Cracking the glass ceiling, 1988–1996 ‘You can’t have a West Indian actor playing a Welsh poet ... ’ . . . But West Indian opera singers can speak the verse? Troilus Young lovers Rosalind Portia The Shakespearean glass ceiling, 1988–1996 ‘Are we saying we’re white people?’ ‘That wouldn’t have happened here’ Birmingham Repertory Theatre, 1993–1996 6 ‘Monarchs to Behold’: 1997–2003 ‘I belong here’ Othello, National Theatre, 1997 Women of colour: pushing against the glass ceiling, 1998–1999 RSC, 1999 Troilus and Cressida, National Theatre, 1999 Identity and colourblind casting Adrian Lester, Hamlet, 2000 David Oyelowo, Henry VI, 2000 Romeo and Juliet, Mu-Lan, 2001 Adrian Lester, Henry V, 2003 The peak of progress? 7 Progress postponed, 2004–2011 ‘There’s a few more parts we could play, you know’ Tragic heroes and the Shakespearean glass ceiling, 2004–2011 Cross-cultural casting ‘I think I need you to do an accent’ Maids and prostitutes, stereotyping Lucetta and Bianca A new dawn 8 Shakespeare from multiculturalism to Brexit, 2012–2018 Julius Caesar and Much Ado About Nothing, RSC, 2012 Othello Joseph Marcell, King Lear, Shakespeare’s Globe, 2013 Shakespeare’s histories, 2013–2015 Paapa Essiedu, Hamlet, RSC, 2016 ‘It was a lack of faith’ Black Theatre Live’s Hamlet and Talawa’s King Lear, 2016 Alfred Enoch, Edgar, King Lear, Talawa, 2016 Women of colour in Shakespeare, 2016–2018 Josette Simon, Cleopatra, RSC, 2017 ‘They never asked me’ Sheila Atim, Emilia, Othello, Shakespeare’s Globe, 2018 Troilus and Cressida, RSC, 2018 Coda – 2019 ... and beyond? References Index Shakespeare is at the heart of the British theatrical tradition, but the contribution of Ira Aldridge and the Shakespearean performers of African, African-Caribbean, south Asian and east Asian heritage who came after him is not widely known. Telling the story for the first time of how Shakespearean theatre in Britain was integrated from the 1960s to the 21st century, this is a timely and important account of that contribution. Drawing extensively on empirical evidence from the British Black and Asian Shakespeare Performance Database and featuring interviews with nearly forty performers and directors, the book chronicles important productions that led to ground-breaking castings of Black and Asian actors in substantial Shakespearean roles including: · Zakes Mokae ( Cry Freedom ) as one of three black witches in William Gaskill's 1966 production of Macbeth at the Royal Court Theatre. · Norman Beaton as Angelo in Michael Rudman's 1981 production of Measure for Measure at the National Theatre – the first majority Black Shakespearean cast at the theatre. · Josette Simon as Isabella in Measure for Measure at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1987. · Adrian Lester in the title role of Nicholas Hytner's 2003 production of Henry V . · Iqbal Khan on his 2012 production of Much Ado About Nothing – the first production with an all south Asian cast at the Royal Shakespeare Company. · Alfred Enoch and Rakie Ayola as Edgar and Goneril in Talawa Theatre Company's 2016 production of King Lear · Paapa Essiedu as Hamlet in Simon Godwin's 2016 production for the Royal Shakespeare Company. With first-hand accounts from key performers including Joseph Marcell, Adrian Lester, Josette Simon, Lolita Chakrabarti, Noma Dumezweni, Rakie Ayola, David Yip, Ray Fearon, Paterson Joseph, Alfred Enoch, Rudolph Walker and many more, this book is an invaluable history of Black and Asian Shakespeareans that highlights the gains these actors have made and the challenges still faced in pursuing a career in classical theatre.