Ira Aldridge on the stage : an anthology / edited by Gregory Vargo.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Vargo, Gregory, editor.

Series:

Edinburgh critical editions of nineteenth-century texts

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aldridge, Ira Frederick, 1807-1867.

Aldridge, Ira Frederick.

Actors, Black--Great Britain--History--19th century.

Actors, Black.

African American actors--History--19th century.

African American actors.

English drama--18th century--History and criticism.

English drama.

English drama--19th century--History and criticism.

Theater--Great Britain--History--18th century.

Theater.

Theater--Great Britain--History--19th century.

Great Britain.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

History

Physical Description:

1 online resource : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, [2026]

Summary:

Demonstrates how the career of Britain's first major Black actor, Ira Aldridge, transformed a range of dramatic genres, including tragedy, melodrama and minstrel playsProvides scholarly editions of hard-to-access plays, including Edward Young's The Revenge; Isaac Bickerstaff's The Padlock; Thomas Morton's The Slave; W.H. Murray's Obi; Or, Three-Fingered Jack; Thomas Dartmouth Rice's The Virginia Mummy; and Thomas Archer's The Black DoctorConsiders how Aldridge's performances participated in and were shaped by debates about slavery, abolition, and raceProvides an accessible account of how plays developed over time through introductions, notes and appendicesHow does theatre history change when viewed through the life of Ira Aldridge, the first Black star of the British stage? Collating an anthology of plays in which Aldridge frequently performed, this volume proposes Aldridge's career intervened in British and US debates about slavery and racial equality while reshaping the conventions of British theatre. Aldridge's repertoire offers readers a way to engage with a long history of racial representation; the anthology ranges from 1721 to 1846 and includes a variety of genres, namely a tragedy, a proto-minstrel burletta, melodramas, and a minstrel play. As Aldridge was limited to a narrow range of roles, his career is uniquely accessible for study. At the same time, the introduction stresses how Aldridge pushed against the boundaries a white culture industry imposed, even as he drastically re-envisioned longstanding portions of the repertoire.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Figures

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Ira Aldridge on the Stage

The Revenge (1721) by Edward Young (1663-1765)

The Padlock (1768) by Isaac Bickerstaff (1733-ca. 1812)

The Slave (1816) by Thomas Morton (1764-1838)

Obi; Or, Three-Fingered Jack (1830) by W. H. [William Henry] Murray (1790-1852)

The Virginia Mummy (1835) by Thomas Dartmouth Rice (1808-1860)

The Black Doctor (1846) by Thomas Archer (1795-1848)

Appendix 1 Longer Manuscript Passages in The Slave Altered in Publication

Appendix 2 Major Variants in Oxberry's Weekly Budget of Plays and Magazine of Romance, Whim, and Interest version of Obi; Or, Three-Fingered Jack, 1 (1843): 93-5

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (De Gruyter Brill, viewed February 16, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version: Ira Aldridge on the stage

ISBN:

9781399556941

1399556940

9781399556934

1399556932

OCLC:

1564131554

Publisher Number:

CIPO000318397

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license