#OscarsSoWhite The all-white Hollywood turns 87

The 2016 Oscar nominations have once again failed to nominate any non-white actors sparking huge controversy and debate. #OscarsSoWhite has been trending on twitter and many actors have spoken out, some with plans to boycott the Academy Awards ceremony. Jada Pinkett Smith, wife of Will Smith, was one of the first to speak out on twitter, ‘At the Oscars… people of colour are always welcome to give out awards… even entertain, but we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments’. On Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday she called for an official boycott. On the same day Oscar-winning director Spike-Lee announced that he would not be attending the show. ‘We cannot support it and mean no disrespect… but, how is it possible for the 2nd consecutive year all 20 contenders under the actor category are white? And let’s not even get into the other branches. 40 white actors in 2 Years and no flava at all. We can’t act?! WTF!!’

This has sparked resurgence around the debate regarding diversity in the arts. But where exactly does the responsibility lie? American actress Viola Davis asserts that the fault lies not with the Oscars committee but rather with the whole of Hollywood itself, the all-white nominations are merely a reflection of that.

On January 18, Luther star and popular candidate for the next James Bond, Idris Elba, made a speech to MPs at Westminster. He blamed directors and industry executives for the lack of diversity on television, accusing them of not living in the real world.

American actress Viola Davis asserts that the fault lies not with the Oscars committee but rather with the whole of Hollywood itself

Off the back of all this, support has been generated for the return of Lolita Chakrabarti’s play Red Velvet. The play consists of the imagined experiences of Ira Aldridge.

This play returns again to the stage with Adrian Lester resuming his role of Aldridge. In light of the current controversy the play’s themes are highly charged with contemporary resonance and present an ironic comparison to the present day.

In an interview on Chanel 4 News Lester spoke out against the inequality which still exists, ‘It’s like a lot of people working on the shop floor of a very large factory, a very profitable factory and a lot of cameras and a lot of microphones are getting shoved in the faces of the people who work on the shop floor. They’re being asked why they’re not getting promoted. I think those questions would be better asked to the people who work in head office, people who manage the shop floor, who decide where the money is spent, who decide what scripts are being made.’ Lester went on to express regret of the way Ira Aldridge’s legacy has been forgotten and written out of history.

Why is it that nearly two centuries later we are still facing similar issues regarding equality and diversity in the arts?

Wherever the blame might lie regarding the lack of diversity on our TV screens, plays like this can offer the potential to spark some sort of change. Ira Aldridge achieved some astounding feats during his life and transformed the performance of Shakespeare entirely. Why is it that nearly two centuries later we are still facing similar issues regarding equality and diversity in the arts? By theatrically depicting the struggles and successes of Aldridge we can hope the play will prompt a revaluation of the current lack of diversity, further sparking debate and progression.

Red Velvet is being produced by the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company at The Garrick and will run from 23rd January to 27th February 2016.