Lolita Chakrabarti's "RED VELVET" directed by Jackie Davis

After their critically and popularly acclaimed run of Jen Silverman's "Witch", Burbage Theatre Co concludes their 11th Season with the Rhode Island premiere of Lolita Chakrabarti's Red Velvet, directed by Trinity Repertory Company member Jackie Davis . Red Velvet will be presented from June 1 through June 18 for a run of 13 performances at Burbage Theatre Co's Wendy Overly Studio Theatre, 59 Blackstone Avenue, Pawtucket, RI.

"Along with Junk, this is a play that we have been trying to produce for a long time. Prepare to be deeply moved, delighted, and shaken by "Red Velvet", a backstage drama that will challenge your preconceptions about the theatre. Lolita Chakrabarti's masterful writing contains in it both a vast and nuanced love for the theatre and a sharp, critical, and unblinking eye for the realities of exclusion in the institution's not-so-distant past. The play offers a beautiful and touching portrait of Ira Aldridge, the first Black American actor to play Othello on a London stage.

"We have an incredible team, led by the incomparable Jackie Davis. I, like many in Rhode Island, have been enamored of Jackie's work as an actor for many years now. I am so thrilled to have her immense creativity and massive talent at the head of this production. We pride ourselves on ensemble work here at Burbage, and we've built another uniquely talented group, this time led by recent Brown/Trinity graduate Ja'Quan Malik Jones. I had the privilege of working with Ja'Quan recently, I can think of no one finer to take up the mantle of Ira Aldridge himself.

So join us! This production only runs for three weekends so get your tickets now before it's too late!"

- Jeff Church, Artistic Director, Burbage Theatre Co

SYNOPSIS - It's like being at a crossroads - a point of absolute, unequivocal change. It makes the blood rush.

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?

Lolita Chakrabarti's play creates imagined experiences based on the little-known, but true, story of Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor who, in the nineteenth century, built an incredible reputation on the stages of London and Europe.

Others Details

Artists: Jackie Davis, JaQuan Malik Jones, Jeff Church

Category: Arts | Performing Arts | Theatre