Black History On Stage
6 Oct 2023
October marks Black History Month and we wanted to celebrate some of the inspiring Black actors and creatives whose work forms part of Bristol Old Vic's theatrical past and future.
Feb 1826
Ira Aldridge performed here waaaaay before Bristol Old Vic was called Bristol Old Vic. He was the first Black actor to play a Shakespearean role in Britain and performed on King Street several times in the early 19th Century.
1990
In 1990 Athol Fuhard’s Master Harold and the Boys, starring Wale Ojo and Jude Akuwudike took place in the New Vic Studio theatre....
..while Geoffrey Kissoon starred in the title role of Bristol Old Vic Company's production of Othello.
In 1992 Clarence Smith starred as Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. It was the Company’s most successful production to date.
Kwame Kwei-Armah’s Blues Brother, Soul Sister was staged at Bristol Old Vic in 1999 and again in 2000, and his first play A Bitter Herb was performed in 2001 when he was artistic associate here.
Kwame is currently the Artistic Director of The Young Vic in London.
In 2003 Jaye Griffiths starred as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by the co-Artistic Director of the time, David Farr.
Jaye has appeared in many long-running series including Doctor Who, Doctors, Bugs and The Bill. She also played consultant Elle Gardner in Casualty from 2016 to 2019.
2004's beautiful production of Twelfth Night starred Rakie Ayola as Olivia and directed by David Farr (design by Angela Davies). You might also recognise Rakie from her role as Detective Superintendent Holland in BBCs The Pact.
Adjoa Andoh starred as Miss Haversham in the 2013 production of Great Expectations. Star of stage and screen, Adjoa is a well-known face from her role as Lady Danbury in Bridgerton.
Jane Eyre originally produced by Bristol Old Vic in 2014. It starred Melanie Marshall as Bertha, hailed as one of Britain's most versatile vocal artists.
In 2016 Bristol Old vic celebrated it's 250th Birthday and Miles Chambers - Bristol's first City Poet - performed his poem Bristol! Bristol! on the stage marking the moment.
His words are now engraved in the shutters on the front of Bristol Old Vic's new entrance.
Thank you Miles!
Akiya Henry was a regular on stage at Bristol Old Vic through the 2010s played Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2013, appeared in the original 2014 Swallows & Amazons and played the title role of Medea in 2017. Here's a production photographer of Akiya as Medea and Stephanie Levi-John as Jason.
The 2017 production of Pinter's The Caretaker, cast Patrice Naiambana in the role of Davies alongside David Judge and Jonathan Livingstone as Mick and Aston.
2018 Jude Owusu in The Cherry Orchard as Lopakhin in a beautiful in-the-round production directed by Michael Boyd.
Chinonyerem Odimba's Princess and The Hustler was a co-production with Eclipse Theatre and set at the time of the Bristol Bus Boycott. It ran in the Weston Studio in 2019. Directed by Dawn Walton.
Here's Donna Berlin as Mavis and the late, great Seun Shote as Wendell Sr.
In 2022 Malaika Kegode and the band Jakabol exploded onto the Theatre stage with a Ferment-supported gig theatre production, Outlier.
Written by Ross Willis and directed by Sally Cookson, Wonder Boy had its world premiere here in March 2022. Here's Raphael Famotibe as 'Sonny'
Giles Terera's The Meaning of Zong, in which he starred as Olaudah Equiano took place at Bristol Old Vic in 2022 and was five years in the making. This striking image shows Alice Vilanculo as Riba, Kiera Lester as Ama and Bethan Mary-James as Joyi.
Running until 14 Oct, Bristol Old Vic and tiata fahodzi are presenting the UK premiere of Nkenna Akuna's cheeky little brown. This is a one-woman show starring Tiajna Amayo as Lady.
And opening later this month, Nancy Medina's first show as Artistic Director of Bristol Old Vic will run in the Theatre until 11 Nov. Choir Boy by Oscar-winner Tarell Alvin McCraney tells the tender coming-of-age story of what it means to celebrate your own uniqueness.
