A staged reading commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Federal Theatre Project’s production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth concludes Adjoa Andoh’s Director’s Residency at the Folger.
The incredibly successful 1936 staging was one of the first to feature an all-Black cast in the United States and was directed by a young Orson Welles. Andoh’s adaptation celebrates the skill of the Black classical actors and musicians involved in the historic production, and stars Andoh alongside a full company of actors.
The reading is being performed as a benefit event for the Folger Shakespeare Library.
About the Director’s Residency
Andoh is the inaugural resident in the new Director’s Residency at the Folger Shakespeare Library, and this staged reading is one of the public programs scheduled for her April 19-25 residency.
The Director’s Residency, established by Folger Director Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper and organized through the Director’s office, aims to connect a prominent artist or thinker with the resources of the Folger in order to engage with Shakespeare and the humanities in new and innovative ways.
During her April residency, Andoh will be in Washington, DC, consulting the Folger’s collection, participating in public programs at the Folger, visiting other cultural centers, and working with students.
Generous support for public programs related to the Director’s Residency is provided by Vinton and Sigrid Cerf. Additional underwriting for the staged reading of Federal Theatre Project’s Macbeth made possible by Susan Sachs Goldman.
Adapted and directed by
Adjoa Andoh MBE
An actor, writer, and director with a career spanning 4 decades, Adjoa Andoh is best known for playing Lady Danbury in Bridgerton and in its prequel Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, for which she is a 4-time nominee at the NAACP Awards. She starred alongside Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in Clint Eastwood’s Nelson Mandela biographical film Invictus. Her many television roles also include Nenneke in the Netflix blockbuster fantasy drama, The Witcher. On the stage, Andoh has had lead roles at the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Court Theatre, Young Vic, The Kiln, and in 2019, she conceived, co-directed and played the lead in Richard II at Shakespeare’s Globe in the UK’s first all women-of-color production.
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