Diversity event to see black actress ‘white up’ as Queen

Published Wednesday 1 August 2007 at 16:05 by Alistair Smith

Exclusive - Theatre Royal, Stratford East is to stage a controversial revival of Jean Genet’s The Blacks - in which a black actress will be ‘whited up’ to play the Queen - to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery and a major conference discussing diversity within the arts.

The production, which has been remixed to create a hip hop version of the 1958 play, is also being staged to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Ghanian independence from the British Empire - Genet’s initial impetus to write the piece.

The run will culminate in a day-long conference organised by Equity and Stratford East to discuss issues surrounding diversity in the performing arts.

Excalibah, who will appear in and co-direct the show with Ultz, told The Stage that the pair had worked to update Genet’s verse to slam poetry and hip hop in order to give the piece greater relevance for modern audiences.

“With it being 50 years since Ghanaian independence - which was Genet’s initial inspiration for writing the piece - and 200 since the abolition of the slave trade, it is perfect timing,” he said.

“There was talk of it not happening this year, due to funding issues and things like that, but we both felt that now was the perfect time for people to be reminded of the atrocities that have been committed across the world in the name of empire.”

The production will feature a company of 13 black actors, five of whom will play the Queen, her footman, an ambassador, a judge and a missionary. These performers will be ‘whited-up’ and positioned in a royal box watching the play within a play.

According to a spokesperson for the show, the actress playing the Queen will be made “as close a facsimile of Queen Elizabeth II as we can manage”.

“We’ll be flipping stereotypes on their head,” added Excalibah, “and that’s exactly what Genet’s play does. It plays around with the ideas of black and white.”

Meanwhile, the Equity conference being held to coincide with the production will take place on November 7 and will involve speakers such as European MP and former actor Michael Cashman and Ben Summerskill, chief executive of equality lobby group Stonewall.

The event is being organised by Equity’s equality officer Max Beckmann and is by invitation only. For more information, email: m.beckmann@equity.org.uk

The Blacks runs at Theatre Royal, Stratford East from October 12 to November 10.