Tag Archives: Tony Howard

Stratford-upon-Avon’s first Black Othellos

It’s 60 years ago, in April 1959, that one of the most important events in the history of the theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon took place. Paul Robeson, the great American singer and actor, became the first black Othello in Shakespeare’s town … Continue reading

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Shakespeare and the strangers: Refugee Week

This week, 18-24 June 2018, has been Refugee Week in the UK . This is its twentieth year, timed to coincide with the worldwide Refugee Day, 20 June. The need to remember the plight of refugees is just as acute, … Continue reading

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Hamlets onstage then and now

This week David Ricardo-Pearce has joined the mighty list of actors who have taken on Shakespeare’s most famous part, Hamlet. Until 10 March 2018 he’s playing the role at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton where they are celebrating the fiftieth … Continue reading

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International Migrants Day: Ira Aldridge and theatre

18 December is International Migrants Day, when the courage and contribution of migrants and refugees around the world is especially celebrated. In the play Sir Thomas More, Shakespeare wrote persuasively about the plight of people fleeing their own countries: he … Continue reading

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Ira Aldridge, theatre manager: the Coventry connection

On 3 August 2017 a blue plaque is to be unveiled in Coventry commemorating Britain’s first non-white theatre manager, Ira Aldridge, exactly 150 years after his death. I’ve written blog posts before celebrating Aldridge’s work as an actor in Shakespeare’s … Continue reading

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British Black and Asian Shakespeare

We’re in the middle of Black History Month 2014, and it’s a good moment to draw attention to a major project on the history of non-white performers of Shakespeare. British Black and Asian Shakespeare is run by Professor Tony Howard … Continue reading

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“Far more fair than black”: Cleopatra, Othello and blacks in Renaissance England

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s new production of Antony and Cleopatra will, for the first time in its history, feature a black actress, Joaquina Kalukango, as Cleopatra. It’s a co-production between the RSC, the Public Theatre, New York and Gablestage, Miami, … Continue reading

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Shakespeare in London, dodging taxes and multiculturalism

It may no longer be the Year of Shakespeare but there’s no shortage of events and exhibitions on offer quite apart from performances of his plays. Coming soon, at the London Metropolitan Archives, is a free exhibition focusing on Shakespeare … Continue reading

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Michael Sheen’s Hamlet: driving out the feminine side

For centuries, critics have noted  Hamlet’s effeminacy: his inability to act decisively, that description as a “delicate and tender prince”. In the eighteenth century the great actor David Garrick was criticised for “giving a kind of feminine sorrow” to his … Continue reading

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