Response to The Stage article, 15 August 2018
The Globe’s Head of Higher Education & Research, Dr Farah Karim-Cooper, responds to an article that appeared in The Stage on 15 August 2018:
Shakespeare’s Globe sparks new row with lighting designers over claims of racial discrimination
This week the Globe is hosting a festival to discuss Shakespeare and race. The workshops and symposium are being attending by a variety of people across the theatre industry and academia. The academics and theatre artists attending and participating in the Shakespeare and Race festival have experience of attending and performing in plays in many other theatres with lighting design. It is not just the experience of the Globe that is informing this discussion. The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse utilises various types of handheld candles and stage designs, all contributing to ensure an actor’s face is illuminated properly. It would be wrong to deny that this issue exists in theatre today. There are many factors that contribute to discrimination of an actor of colour, lighting is certainly an element, alongside other factors including blocking, costuming and stage design.
We’re glad discussion and debate have been sparked and would encourage a continued conversation, and invite people to attend the remainder of our festival, including a workshop on Women and Theatre in Britain, Playing Othello featuring actors who have all played the role, Hip-hop Shakespeare Unplugged, and Shakespeare and Race Across Borders: a scholarly symposium.
Having discussed the many issues facing actors of colour with actors attending our festival, this is certainly an issue that should not be dismissed. The conversation is, and must remain, complex and our festival is an attempt to open up conversation in the fight against discrimination.