RI Premiere of Lolita Chakrabarti's RED VELVET directed by Jackie Davis at Burbage Theatre Co

After their critically and popularly acclaimed  run of Jen Silverman’s WITCH, Burbage Theatre Co concludes their 11th Season with the Rhode Island premiere of Lolita Chakrabarti’s Red Velvet, directed by Trinity Repertory Company  member Jackie Davis. Red Velvet will be presented from June 1 through June 18 for a run of 13 performances at Burbage Theatre Co’s Wendy Overly Studio Theatre, 59 Blackstone Avenue, Pawtucket, RI. 

RI Premiere

RED VELVET

by Lolita Chakrabarti

(May 11 - June 4)

"It's like being at a crossroads - a point of absolute, unequivocal change. It makes the blood rush."

Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, 1833. Edmund Kean, the greatest actor of his generation, has collapsed on stage whilst playing Othello. A young black American actor has been asked to take over the role. But as the public riot in the streets over the abolition of slavery, how will the cast, critics and audience react to the revolution taking place in the theatre?

Lolita Chakrabarti's play creates imagined experiences based on the little-known, but true, story of Ira Aldridge, an African-American actor who, in the nineteenth century, built an incredible reputation on the stages of London and Europe.

RED VELVET in the Press:

"Shock waves rarely travel across centuries. But at.. 'Red Velvet'... you can experience firsthand what it must have felt like to be part of one seriously rattled London theater audience in 1833." 

— New York Times

"Red Velvet is the play to see. A superb ensemble directed by Indhu Rubasingham from Lolita Chakrabarti’s excellent script. The audience was clearly awestruck."

— The Huffington Post

"Frankly, thrilling. [Red Velvet] burns the place down." 

— Time Out New York

"It’s a cracker of a play: gripping, intelligent and passionate."

 — Financial Times