Acclaimed director Nicholai La Barrie talks to final year BA Acting student Tijan Sarr ahead of the GSA production of Red Velvet by Lolita Chakrabarti. Tijan plays Ira Aldridge, the most successful actor of his time and the first black actor to play Othello. Nicholai and Tijan discuss knowledge and awareness of black actors - or the lack of knowledge and awareness - and the impressive accomplishments of Ira Aldridge. They talk about the challenges he faced as a black American actor in Europe during slavery. Book for Red Velvet screenings on 17th and 18th March 2021 at https://gsauk.org/events.