A forgotten superstar

Why isn’t Ira Aldridge a household name?

Born in New York City in 1807, Aldridge was the first Black actor to achieve international fame for his portrayal of “Othello” at the Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, London, in 1833, at a time when slavery was still legal in the British colonies. Aldridge toured Europe, receiving top honors from monarchs in Russia, Switzerland and Prussia, yet his accomplishments were all but forgotten. What happened?

That’s the question at the heart of “Red Velvet,” a dramatization of Aldridge’s life by contemporary British playwright Lolita Chakrabarti.

Albuquerque audiences can see Marcus Ivey portray Aldridge in a new staging of “Red Velvet” by West End Productions, a nonprofit theater company devoted to plays from the British Isles. The play opens on Friday, Feb. 13, and runs for three weekends.

“It’s a story about individuals who have such an impact on the art that we do, (but) who may not be fully seen,” director Levi Gore said.

Although Aldridge’s debut as Othello received some positive reviews, many 19th century critics couldn’t see past the color of his skin.

“A lot of the actual review of the time… transfix on Ira (Aldridge)’s appearance as a Black man on stage instead of his acting ability,” Gore said.

The director knew very little about Aldridge before reading “Red Velvet.”

“He was a footnote in my theater history,” he said.

The opportunity to bring attention to an underappreciated historical figure is partly what motivated Gore to direct the play.

“I really like being able to shine a light on these stories,” he said.

Gore was also intrigued by the fact that “Red Velvet” was a memory play, a genre invented by Tennessee Williams, in which the lead character narrates events from their past through their own subjective, sometimes faulty, memories.

“I had never done a memory play,” Gore said.

“Red Velvet” begins in Poland in 1867 when Aldridge, near the end of his life, is preparing to play the title role in William Shakespeare’s “King Lear” — often regarded as the most prestigious role for an older Shakespearean actor — then jumps back to 1833 to the moment Aldridge got his first big break.

“It’s really interesting, because the more I read the play, I’m like, this is a memory of a man who spent his entire life in the theater, and (I think about) how our memories get fragmented and broken and distorted as we age and grow,” Gore said. “I was really wondering, at this point in time, is his memory fully there? Is it not there? Does it devolve? And how do we embrace the memories of our lives?”

Gore wanted the set, props and lighting design to reflect the fading memories of an actor whose own life became a faded memory.

“Mattie Roos, the set designer, as well as Quinten Avila and Riley Lewis, who are doing props and lights respectively, have all leaned into this idea,” Gore said. “Some of the colors might be fading as we go further back in time to the 1830s, things are a little more broken in terms of the set and the props aren’t as fully vibrant, just because as we age, our memories fade and start to fragment, no matter how much we try to grasp and hold onto them.”

Ivey previously played Martin Luther King Jr. in Adobe Theater’s production of “The Mountaintop.” Gore described Ivey as meticulous in his craft, while also praising his emotional depth.

“Marcus has brought such an intense vulnerability to this (role),” Gore said.

The director was especially impressed by Ivey’s ability to transform into older and younger versions of the same character, over 30 years apart, by changing his speech patterns and physicality.

“Marcus plays it beautifully as a young man who is determined and fierce and confident in what he wants and his abilities, and even as an older man who has been through the ringer over his entire life,” Gore said.

Gore said this was his first time working with most of the actors in “Red Velvet,” including Ivey.

“They’re all incredibly intelligent and talented, and it’s great to work with them,” Gore said. “They’re just so on top of it and get the rhythm of the language. They understand the historical context, and they understand their characters.”

Logan Royce Beitmen is an arts writer for the Albuquerque Journal. He covers visual art, music, fashion, theater and more. Reach him at lbeitmen@abqjournal.com or on Instagram at @loganroycebeitmen.