Written by Lolita Chakrabarti, Red Velvet was Indhu Rubasingham’s inaugural production as Artistic Director of the Tricycle. Chakrabarti went on to win the Critics’ Circle and Evening Standard Awards for Most Promising Playwright and Adrian Lester was awarded Best Actor at the Critics’ Circle Awards.
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? Imagined experiences based on the true story of Ira Aldridge.
Charlotte Lucas plays Ellen. For the Tricycle Theatre her credits include: Called to Account, Darfur, How Long is Never? and Fabulation. Charlotte’s other theatre work includes: If Only (Chichester), Posh (Royal Court/West End), The Changeling (Young Vic), Yes Prime Minister (West End) and Fast Labour (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Hampstead Theatre).
I recently spoke to Charlotte about revisiting her role in Red Velvet and being reunited with the cast, why she’s excited to be taking the play to New York as well as what makes The Tricycle Theatre such an exciting place to work…
What has it been like for you to revisit Red Velvet? Did it feel strange at first being back in the rehearsal room?
No, not really. To be honest it’s a real privilege to be allowed to go back to something and re-look at things you may have felt first time round didn’t quite work. It’s such an opportunity to look at all of that again. Also, it’s such a rare thing and makes the production stronger all round because you are exploring it with eyes that have an amount of knowledge which has been filtered through which means you can start from a place of more experience.
You must be very excited about the New York transfer! Will any changes be made for New York audiences?
No, I don’t think so. I guess it will feel slightly different though. I think what we are anticipating is that the reaction the Americans have towards it might be different to an English audience who receive it in a particular way. It may be a bit more vocal [laughs].
When you were first offered the role did you have any idea it would take you on this huge journey?
No, I had absolutely no idea and it’s been amazing and the one that I had absolutely no expectation of, and it’s a joy – it’s also a genuine joy to be coming back to work with such an all round lovely company and director. It really couldn’t be any better.
Red Velvet is a new play by Lolita Chakrabarti who has received such high praise for the piece. What do you think it is about her writing which is so strong? Can you put your finger on her success?
I think what she has managed to do is capture an essence of the time these characters were living in which is no easy feat. I think she has captured that with a great deal of humour, humanity and charm which is why people have loved the show. It could have been a boring biopic about a slice of Aldridge’s life – not that he had a boring life – but it could have been quite staid. She’s managed to breathe life into it and do him justice. These are not just stock characters they are three dimensional and fully breathing which is fantastic.
Charlotte Lucas & Adrian Lester in Red Velvet
As an actor, how do you find approaching a brand new piece of writing?
It’s very exciting… and daunting I might add [laughs]! Of course there is research that one has to do on one’s own about the real Ellen Tree, but I found there isn’t a massive amount about her out there, although there’s enough – she was certainly a formidable actress and figure, and a powerful one at that. She was an actress who was known for her power, tenderness and refinement and those words have stayed with me throughout the whole process. Then I think you have to just dive in and try and connect with what is before your eyes as much as you can in your own very personal way and bring it as closely to yourself as possible, within the bounds of the character you are playing, and make it as real and true to life as you possibly can do.
What are the cast like to work with? It must be great to be reunited with them!
I’m very, very excited to be reunited with them. My father died last year just at the time when we opened so it was a very difficult time for me and I remember this production very fondly because it was a wonderful production to be in and also because of the kindness and generosity the company showed me during a very tough time. It’s lovely to come back and revisit that and those people.
It’s a very exciting time for the Tricycle which seems to be going from strength to strength. What is it like working there?
It’s a very exciting time! I did a couple of political pieces here years ago and it feels like it has been infused with a new lease of life! The place is really buzzing and with the few changes that have been made – our area, music and the people working here – it just feels very, very alive and a place that people genuinely want to come to. It also feels exciting because I think people are seeing things here that I don’t think they have had the opportunity to see before; there is a more diverse mix of theatre which is reaching out to a different sort of audience.
Finally, have the audiences at the Tricycle been supportive?
Generally I have found the audiences here incredibly giving and very curious and it’s a privilege to meet them after the show and have a chat about the piece if that’s what they want to do. That’s the lovely thing about the Tricycle, you can do that, there’s no sort of highfalutin-ness about it. So yes, you do feel supported, but you feel supported not only by those coming to watch the show, but also the people behind the show and that’s what is important. The people who work for the Tricycle are the backbone of the whole thing which is what I think makes actors want to come back here to work time and time again.
Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
Red Velvet runs at the Tricycle Theatre until Saturday 15th March 2014. Please visit www.tricycle.co.uk for further information and tickets. The production transfers to the St Ann’s Warehouse in New York from 25th March running until 20th April 2014.
Photo Credit: Tristram Kenton
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