press & media
PRESS RELEASES
Harlem Artist Debra Ann Byrd Set To Take The Stage At Shakespeare's Birthplace
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust's first Writer-in-Residence, Debra Ann Byrd, is set to return to Stratford-upon-Avon in October 2019 with her new solo show BECOMING OTHELLO: A Black Girl's Journey.
FEATURE ARTICLES
BECOMING A FELLOW FOR OTHELLO | See Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey at Birthplace
By Gill Sutherland | 8th October 2019
We are becoming more used to seeing female actors taking on Shakespeare’s well-known male characters (hello King John on page 8!) but what is it like to play a member of the opposite sex? Here to tell us is American actor Debra Ann Byrd, who performs her new solo show Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust centre on Henley Street this Wednesday (9th October).
Black Shakespeare champion working to change views on 'colour-blind' casting
The head of a US mixed-race theatre company will never forget the racism she encountered when, as a graduating drama student, she was cast as Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest. “I was a black woman playing a traditional white role and the rest of the cast were white,” she said. “When the audience came to see the show, some folks were shocked.”
WATCH & LISTEN
This Week in Shakespeare: Debra Ann Byrd | Othello
Sep 23, 2015
This Week in Shakespeare Episode 72 // She practiced. The establishment told her not to try. She practiced more. Then, she created a space for classically trained actors of color to show their work. Fifteen seasons later, no one is telling Debra Ann Byrd of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival not to try. Featuring: Othello Act V, Scene II
“Black Voices: Debra Ann Byrd” Podcast interview with Suman Bhuchar, Theatre Voice, South London UK, July 5, 2013.