LOLITA Chakrabarti is a highly-acclaimed actress and playwright, whose writing includes the award winning ‘Life of Pi’ which is probably one of the most challenging plays to stage written.
Red Velvet is not without its staging challenges too, as it moves from countries, locations and time zones in telling the story of American actor Ira Aldridge’s short lived debut back in 1807 as the first black actor to play the title role in Othello – a period when slavery had not yet been abolished.
The fact this ended in disaster (even though Aldridge’s career went on to heady international heights) is the main plot, but Chakrabarti throws stones in the water to add complexity so that we leave thinking of how not just far we have come in the terms of acceptance and embracement of colour, faith and sexuality – but how far we still have to go.
I cannot think of a more fitting Crescent director than Alan K. Marshall to tackle the complexities of Chakrabarti’s worthy but wordy and complex script, whilst keeping it entertaining. Marshall has never been afraid to take risks, mixing artistic media by bringing the unreality of opera to the grittiness of drama, which he does in huge dollops here.
On entering the dimly lit auditorium, we are offered an entertaining back story by two wigged and liveried stage shifters (superbly crafted scene stealing by Paul and Zena Forrest). As the curtain goes up, the lights go down and we get stumbling and mumbling in German in the dark, which, rather try and make too much sense of it, is best to just relax and enjoy the candlelight and the mood setting.
We meet Ira Aldridge the elder in his lodgings somewhere on tour – this is part simply made for Hugh Blackwood whose stature and dark chocolate toned voice commands the respect befitting a grand old master of the boards. He is being interviewed by a would-be journalist asking why he has never gone back to the stage in London.
Off we zoom back in time to meet Ira Aldridge the younger to find out why. Enter another Crescent heavyweight in the ever-watchable Papa Yentumi. He has been employed to play Othello in Covent Garden, to replace a sick and bed ridden Edmund Kean. This causes hells bells and damnation from within the theatre company, especially by Edmund’s son Charles – a beautifully angry and bigoted portrayal by Alexander Pendleton.
Likewise Bernard Warde, the old timer and the over-enthusiastic Henry Forester (Phil Rea and Tom Lowde) turn from troupers to spoilers causing the theatre manager Pierre Laporte (a truly believable performance by Peter Neenan) to send the theatre dark for the only time in its history.
Lydia White makes a wonderful actress playing actress Ellen Tree playing Desdemona; Shemeica Rawlins is majestic in her dignified portrayal of Connie the maid and Amy Findlay does a characterful job in three roles including the mousey Yorkshire wife of Aldridge.
I loved the fact that Aldridge was ever arrogant; not ‘cow-towing’ to anyone and was reminded of an historic Johnny Depp.
Blackwood and Yentumi have both played Othello on the Crescent stage and it is befitting that they are on this journey together and writing another page of Crescent history.
With some wonderful dark lighting by James Booth, great frocks by the Snapes and a perfect set from Keith Harris, Marshall and Co could not have done greater justice to Chakrabarti’s challenge.
This is an opportunity to see a very unique piece of theatre, beautiful crafted and performed which will leave you asking questions without answers.
*****
