Have You Heard of Ira Aldridge? - Learn About this Actor.

I like to think I'm a darn good navigator of the legitimate theatre scene—current and historical, national and regional. I was surprised, this morning, to discover an important actor named Ira Aldridge. 

I studied theatre in New York for a lot of years, yet I'd never heard the name Ira Aldridge until today. I wondered why? After some searching and reading, I realized why the actor was a mystery to me.

              Actor Ira Aldridge, 1858- via Creative Commons

I received an email alerting me to an event at The Walters Art Gallery. Here's the information:

Join Kwame Kwei-Armah, British playwright, actor, director, and new Artistic Director of Center Stage, Baltimore, in this lively discussion about Ira Aldridge, the first American of African descent to achieve fame in the theater. Kwei-Armah will preview recordings from his recent radio documentary on Aldridge, who spent much of his career on the London stage in Shakespearean roles, especially that of Othello.

                         Portrait of Ira Aldridge, as Othello

I learned from England's BBC Radio 4 that, in a 2009 documentary:

Kwame Kwei-Armah traced the life and work of Ira Aldridge, a black actor who defied racial prejudice to become one of Britain's finest Shakespearean actors.

When Aldridge first appeared on the London stage in 1825, he was enthusiastically received by the public but the critics hated him, The Times going so far as to say that he could not pronounce English properly, 'owing to the shape of his lips'.

Here was a black man daring to break into the heartland of the British 'classics', which had hitherto been the exclusive domain of white actors.

But, undeterred by the racial hostility of the press, Aldridge became a perpetually touring player, an exotic 'star', honing his skills in the provinces and across Europe. In a career spanning 30 years, he became one of Britain's finest Shakespearean players, and had more honours showered upon him than any other actor of his time.

Here's actor Eke Chukwu portraying Ira Aldridge in a short documentary promo:

 

I'm not going to attempt to write a biography of Aldridge. I just met him, after all. There are dozens of resources available online. Here are a couple:

Ira Aldridge at Wikipedia
Ira Aldridge at Cade Library, Southern and A&M
Ira Aldridge Collection at Northwestern University 

Ira Aldridge: African American Theater Pioneer
Presented by Kwame Kwei-Armah
The Walters Art Museum
Date: Sunday, February 26, 2012
Time: 02:00 PM–03:00 PM 

So, why didn't I know about Ira Aldridge? I thought back to school in the 1970s and realized that I wasn't taught anything about Africian-American Actors or their contribution to the world of theatre. And, that is the plain, sad, pitiful truth. Will I see you at the Walters on the 26th?