Description
Book SynopsisThis volume is the outcome of the Ira Aldridge Symposium, which the British and Commonwealth Studies Department, University of Łódź (Poland), organized to celebrate the bicentennial anniversary of the birth of this great Afro-American Shakespearean actor (1807-1867). The collection provides invaluable insight into Aldridge’s contribution to abolitionist debates raging in mid-nineteenth century in the United States and England. Moreover, it discusses his reception among varied audiences in European countries, such as Germany, Poland, Russia and the Austrian Empire. Last but not least, Aldridge’s traces and echoes in modern times are investigated.
Table of ContentsContents: Sandra L. Richards: Preface – Krystyna Kujawińska Courtney/Maria Łukowska: Introduction – Bernth Lindfors: The Lives of Ira Aldridge – Krystyna Kujawińska Courtney: Ira Aldridge (1807-1867): From «Playing the African Prince» to Becoming the Great Interpreter of the Ever-Living Shakespeare» – Baron Kelly: Ira Aldridge: Prophet of Protest – Keith Byerman: Creating the Black Hero: Ira Aldridge’s the Black Doctor – Katarzyna Kwapisz Williams/Evan Williams: Ira Aldridge, Multiculturalism and the Theatre of Mid-Nineteenth-Century Wrocław – Olga Mastela: Ira Aldridge in Cracow (1854-1858): A Difficult Reception – Łukasz Romanowski: Ira Aldridge - Lodzermensch – Agata Dąbrowska: In the Defense of «Otherness»: Ira Aldridge as Shylock in Poland from 1853-1867 – Ruth Cowhig: Ira Aldridge in Manchester and the Background of Blacks in England – Joanna Sadowska: The Polish Cause and Ira Aldridge in Maciej Karpiński’s Othello Dies – Remigiusz Caban: Ira Aldridge - the Legend and Contemporary Hero: Writing a Play about the Great Actor’s Visit to Łódź – Maria Łukowska: Contemporary Knowledge of Ira Aldridge among Łódź Tertiary School Students of Culture and Film Studies: a Survey of the Academic Year 2006/2007.
