©2006-2020 Open Culture, LLC. By the end of the 1840s, however, Aldridge felt he had gone as far as he could go in England and left to tour the Continent in what had become his signature role, Othello. While he succeeded in becoming an all-around great Shakespearean actor, Aldridge’s legacy rests especially in the way he helped transform roles performed as “racial impersonation” for a few hundred years into the provenance of talented black actors who bring new depth, complexity, and authenticity to characters often played as stock ethnic villains. We thank you! Ira Aldridge. And though he was the subject of many portraits of the period—like that by James Northcote at the top of the post, portraying the 19-year-old Aldridge as Othello, and this 1830 painting by Henry Perronet Briggs—he was “largely forgotten by theater historians.” (See him above in an 1858 drawing by Ukranian artist Taras Shevchenko.) He was especially popular in Prussia and Russia, where he received top honors from heads of state. Source: Farewell address (April 2, 1832) To a great degree, these characters have been played as though their identities were like the costumes put on by actors who darkened their faces or wore stereotypical markers of ethnic or religious Judaism (including “an obnoxiously large nose”). Aldridge continued to act until the end of his life, earning a number of honors such as Switzerland’s White Cross. Kentake spends her free time reading, researching, and writing up the posts on the site. He also staunchly spoke out against the Maafa (slavery), contributing financially to abolitionist causes and incorporating songs of freedom into his performances. Sitter in 4 portraits Born and educated at the African Free School in New York, Aldridge came to Britain in 1824, and first appeared in the lead role of Othello at the Royalty Theatre in the east end of London the following year. But for many people, it was an insult because this is still a society where there is a great deal of slavery in the British Empire. In 1833 he made his West End debut playing Othello again at Covent Garden, replacing Edmund Kean. The ways that Othello, Aaron the Moor from Titus Andronicus, and Shylock from The Merchant of Venice—Shakespeare’s “explicitly racialized characters,” as George Washington University’s Ayanna Thompson puts it—have been interpreted over the centuries may have less to do with the author’s intentions and more with contemporary ideas about race, the actors cast in the roles, and the directorial choices made in a production. He had been twice married and left behind several children. Aldridge was born in New York City to Reverend Daniel and Luranah Aldridge July 24, 1807. And in order to combat the idea of increasing abolition, performers like Ira had to be stopped. Aldridge made his acting debut as Rolla in Pizarro, a Sheridan adaptation of August von Kotzebue’s Die Spanier in Peru.

There’s some inaccurate information in here….

The tradition continued in Britain until the 19th century, when the Shakespearean color line, so to speak, was first crossed by Ira Aldridge, an American actor born in New York City in 1807.
http://www.100greatblackbritons.com/bios/ira_aldridge.html. I have raised up that which was destroyed.

The Globe, on the other hand, found his enunciation ‘distinct and sonorous’.

Her special "love" interest is the Maafa/Atlantic slavery.

We're hoping to rely on our loyal readers rather than erratic ads. /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. He became the victim of a sustained London press campaign motivated by racism, and found it difficult to secure engagements, but he never gave up.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Get the best cultural and educational resources on the web curated for you in a daily email. Kentake Page, founded by Meserette Kentake, is a Pan-Afrikan Black history blog that celebrates the diversity of the Afrikan historical experience both on the continent and in the diaspora. Ira Aldridge Quotes and Quotations. Ira Aldridge died on August 7, 1867 in Lodz, Poland while touring. Read More, #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } Jul 31, 2017 - Famous Afro-American Shakespearean actor of the Victorian period who lived in Penge in the 1860s and was married in St John's church in 1864. He Meserette Kentake is the founder of Kentake Page. Aldridge performed in his teens at the African Grove Theatre in New York City, the first theatre in the United States that catered to and was managed by African Americans.

We find the free courses and audio books you need, the language lessons & educational videos you want, and plenty of enlightenment in between. Ira Frederick Aldridge was an American and later British stage actor and playwright who made his career after 1824, largely in London and in Europe and is most famous for his Shakespearean roles. Source; Report... A child of the sun, black my countenance, yet I stand before you in the light of my soul.

Designed by, Ten ‘Black Body’ Quotes from Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Between…, Ten Thought-Provoking Quotes from “The Mis-Education of the…, Ten Powerful Quotes by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, The best line from the Black Panther Movie, Her name was Redoshi: The last survivor of…, Paul Belloni Du Chaillu: The “African” Zoologist who…, Sarah Baartman: The “first known Black female victim…, Mary Annette Anderson: The first African American woman…, Gwendolyn B. Bennett: The Harlem Renaissance Writer and…, Marie Couvent: A Controversial African-American Philanthropist, Zelda Wynn Valdes: The Creator of the Playboy…, The Gullah Creole Art of Diane Britton Dunham, Jackie Ormes: The first professional African American woman…, Charles Alston: Reclaiming identity through art, Henry Ossawa Tanner: First internationally acclaimed African American…, James Weldon Johnson: Author of “Lift Ev’ry Voice…, Sterling Allen Brown: Harlem Renaissance Poet, The History of Africa: The Quest For Eternal…, Uncovering the African Past: The Ivan Van Sertima…, Wonderful Ethiopians of the Ancient Cushite Empire, Alice Augusta Ball: The African-American chemist who developed an effective treatment of leprosy, Alexandre Dumas: The Father of great swashbuckling historical epics, Arthur Alfonso Schomburg: Pioneering Historian, Susie King Taylor: The First Black Army Nurse, Charles E. Anderson: The first African American to earn a Ph.D. in Meteorology. His first performance had a mixed reception. He Although he was born in American, Aldridge is regarded as one of the 100 greatest Black Briton. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Follow him at @jdmagness, by Josh Jones | Permalink | Comments (1) |. Born in New York City, Aldridge went to the African Free School in New York City at aged 13. Performing the bard’s works was “a kind of violation,” Howard summarizes, “he has no right to do that, not even to play Othello.”, From his beginnings in Coventry to his experience in London, Aldridge made the once-blackface role his own, perhaps increasingly drawing “on his own experience and his own feeling.” He also portrayed Aaron in Titus, and as he persevered through negative press and prejudice, he took on other starring roles, including Richard III, Shylock, Iago, King Lear, and Macbeth. They were married for 40 years until her death in 1864.

Kentake Page is also a celebration and appreciation of Black authors and artists. For centuries, that is what most audiences fully expected to see. They had four more children: Irene Luranah, Ira Frederick and Amanda Aldridge, who all went on to musical careers, the two girls as opera singers.

A year after Margaret’s death, on April 20, 1865, Aldridge married his mistress, the self-styled Swedish countess Amanda von Brandt, with whom he already had a son, Ira Daniel. His first known British performance was at the Royal Coburg (now known as the Old Vic) on 10th October 1825, as Oroonoko in The Revolt of Surinam, or A Slave’s Revenge. He performed Othello in Russia and was lionized, earning more money than any Russian actor. Aldridge was the subject of two recent plays, Black Othello, by Cecilia Sidenbladh, and Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti. He later began performing under the name Keene, “a homonym,” notes the site Black History 365, “for the then popular British actor, Edmund Kean.” Aldridge’s big break came after he met Kean and his son Charles, also an actor, in 1831, and both became supporters of his career.

Ira Aldridge quote: I risk my all upon thy power— Life—son—yea, country too; To free my brethren, fetter'd slaves From sinking in inglorious graves. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ira_Aldridge

In fact Ira Aldridge was an African-American, born in New York in 1807, but otherwise the flyers were accurate.

Ira Aldridge Quote. in Literature, Theatre | March 22nd, 2018 1 Comment. Ira Frederick Aldridge was an American and later British stage actor and playwright who made his career after 1824 largely on the London stage and in Europe, especially in Shakespearean roles. The vision is to bring together history, literature, and art under one cyber-umbrella, to make Black/Afrikan historical, literary, and artistic achievements universally accessible. Their daughter Rachael Frederica was born shortly after Aldridge’s death and died in infancy. https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/bhm-firsts/ira-aldridge THE LIFE OF IRA ALDRIDGE. He died on August 7, 1867, while in Poland.

He is the only actor of African-American descent among the 33 actors of the English stage honored with bronze plaques at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon. There is no doubt that America is a superpower of the world and we cannot ignore them.

We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file.

While white actors like Orson Welles and Lawrence Olivier continued to play Othello well into the 20th century, these days such casting can be seen as "ridiculous," as Hugh Muir writes at The Guardian, especially if that actor "blacks up" for the role. * By using this form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. 7 things you would have learned if you read ‘The ... 10 Iconic Poems by Maya Angelou Every Black Person Should ... Mme. Some of that verbal violence included comparing Aldridge to “performing horses” and “performing dogs.” Many London critics saw his entry on the Shakespearean stage as an affront to English literary tradition.

Aldridge’s first professional acting experience was in the early 1820s with the African Company, a group founded and managed by William Henry Brown and James Hewlett. While first touring with an English company, he “later began to work with local theater troupes,” the Folger writes, “performing in English while the rest of the cast would perform in German, Swedish, etc. All Right Reserved.