"[M]ake your garden rich in gillyvors, / And do not call them bastards"

Perdita and the Possibilities for Redemptive Interracialism

Abstract

Cluster: Directions

Of Shakespeare's plays, The Winter's Tale offers unique and until recently unexplored possibilities for interracial casting. With a black Leontes, The Winter's Tale can be seen as a redemptive alternative to Othello. Recent productions of The Winter's Tale have illustrated the fruitfulness of exploring racial issues in plays ostensibly not concerned with race and also the ambiguity that can result in an age of colorblind casting. Perspectives of directors and African-American actors, such as Curt Tofteland and Dmetrius Conley-Williams, are given from recent interracial productions of The Winter's Tale, with an emphasis on the desire of some black actors to embrace racial roles.