A Harvard University theater will host a performance of a re-imagined take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth exclusively for “Black-identifying audience members” Friday, the day after the premiere of the show.
Macbeth in Stride will have its world premiere Thursday at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, but Friday’s “Black Out” performance is reserved as an “exclusive space for Black-identifying audience members,” according to the theater’s ticket website.
The website thanks “non-Black allies” for their support in “making this a completely Black-identifying evening” and invites them to attend one of the other performances of the show.
The retelling of Macbeth is billed as an examination of “what it means to be an ambitious Black woman through the lens of one of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters” and is the first of a five-part series that the theater commissioned from artist Whitney White.
“The first of White’s five-part series commissioned by A.R.T. excavating the women from Shakespeare’s canon, the production uses pop, rock, gospel, and R&B to trace the fatalistic arc of Lady Macbeth while lifting up contemporary Black female power, femininity, and desire,” reads the performance website.
The original Shakespeare play, first performed in the early 17th century, tells the story of Macbeth, who is prophesied to claim the throne of Scotland and is encouraged to do so by his wife, Lady Macbeth. Macbeth and his wife are killed at the end of the play following a series of violent struggles.
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The theater’s website says it commits to “advancing public health in our practice and our programming, recognizing that racism in America is a national public health crisis” and “We affirm and celebrate a multitude of perspectives and experiences that reflect the diversity of our country and world. We are dedicated to making a welcoming and accessible space for people of any identity, background, or ability.”
The theater goes on to say that it “center[s] anti-racism” and “Habituate[s] anti-racist practices in our policies, structure and culture.”
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education noted that A.R.T’s “Black Out” performance may run afoul of federal civil rights law because of Harvard’s reliance on federal funding.
“Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids all institutions receiving federal financial assistance, whether public or private, from discriminating ‘on the ground of race, color, or national origin,’” the organization said in a press release. “Colleges and universities like Harvard that accept payments from students who receive federal financial aid are covered by Title VI.”
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The American Repertory Theater did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
