The AFRICAN COMPANY PRESENTS RICHARD III

This powerful historical play is inspired by a true story of the first Black theatrical group in the country, the African Grove Company of New York.  Forty years before the Civil War, the African Grove Theatre Troupe in New York sets about staging a production of Richard III to which black and white audiences flocked. But when a major (and white) New York company scores a big name star to be featured in their own production of Richard III, they are determined to shut down the African company’s show at any cost. The play ends with the Company, surviving, its integrity intact, and about to launch an equally progressive new chapter in the American theatre: They’ll soon be producing the first black plays written by Black Americans of their day.