REVIEW: Red Velvet, Garrick Theatre ✭✭✭

Red Velvet at the Garrick Theatre

Red Velvet touches on a number of very difficult subjects regarding race, and does so in a compelling and thoughtful manner. The play is generally well written – with a number of excellent touches – and this production contains a host of fine performances, not least Adrian Lester as Ira Aldridge. Nevertheless, Aldridge is an incomplete protagonist, and too many aspects of his life are told to us, rather than shown. This means that, in spite of the play’s many strong qualities, it cannot achieve its full dramatic potential.