Who gets to walk the stage? Who should be allowed to portray the people who make up our plays, films and television series?
I have acted and directed for over half a century. My first significant role was at school as Max Biedermann in Frisch’s play The Fire Raisers, but I was not German. I have played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, but I am not American. I have played Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, but I had to age up over 30 years. I have played God in two different plays, and there are some who know me who would say I am not divine. And would any of these be unacceptable today?
Why do only some people get the roles?
Not everyone gets an even share in the world of acting. Going back as far as Greek theatre there has been discrimination against some groups. Initiated by Thespis leaping upon his cart and reciting poetry, the theatrical performance captivated the audience. And there were no women actors in Greece and quite possibly no women in the audience, though this is disputed. Our patriarchal society existed then and still does.
The tradition of women not being allowed to act continued for over two thousand years apart from a brief interlude in Roman theatre. Females in Shakespeare’s plays were depicted by boys and it was not until 8 December 1660 that Margaret Hughes, also known as Peg Hughes or Margaret Hewes, appeared on the English stage. Charles II decreed in 1662 that female roles should be played only by females, in part to discourage homosexuality.
Which nationality plays which nationality?
Until recent times it has been common for actors to portray different nationalities from Elizabeth Taylor as the Egyptian Pharaoh Cleopatra to Laurence Olivier as the black Othello. When Netflix cast Adele James, an actor of mixed heritage, as Cleopatra the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry objected, saying the Pharoah was pale-skinned.
Certainly, no modern professional production of Othello would permit a white man to play the part in blackface. And if that had been the case in the 1960s, when Olivier played Othello, I would have missed experiencing one of the most remarkable performances of my life because it was an experience, not just something I watched. The greatest of performers do not just present, they connect with an audience. It is not a passive process; that connection is active and alive. And this is true of musicians at a concert, actors on a stage, and even actors on film – it can be mesmerising.
I am not attempting to argue that blackface is acceptable, but I am wondering where we draw the line. Women and people of colour have been under-represented in film, television and on stage since they began, and it is right that this should be rebalanced.
Nationality, skin colour or something else?
Johnny Depp playing Tonto in The Lone Ranger as recently as 2013 feels strange and Joseph Fiennes being cast as Michael Jackson raises questions, and even Fiennes himself said that he regretted it. And one of those questions must be what, if any, alternatives might there be?
I do not know if there were Native American actors who could have played Tonto or whether there were black actors who could have played Jackson, particularly given his skin colouring. If there were, my question is – should they have been given preference? And how much does celebrity matter? Would these have been made without Depp and Fiennes?
I saw the final performance of the original production of David Hare’s play Plenty about Britian’s post-war disillusion. Kate Nelligan was a brilliant Susan Traherne and her performance resonated with me some years later when I directed an amateur production. But when it came to filming the American Meryl Streep was cast as the very English, Susan. The director reputedly responded to not casting Kate Nelligan with the brief phrase, “No Meryl Streep, no film”.
Who plays a man and who plays a woman?
Gender, as opposed to sex, is something of which we have recently all become more aware. Whatever our definitions of women and men, there are individuals who have chosen to undergo hormone replacement and gender reassignment surgery. There are many films, going back to at least 1953 with Glen or Glenda, telling stories of such individuals. They include The Danish Girl with Eddie Redmayne to Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie with Joanna Lumley, neither of whom are transgender. And recently three trans actors, Kim Tatum, Mariah Louca and Reece Lyons, called for trans women to be put on an equal footing for cis roles.
Can acting become age, colour, and gender blind?
A variety of women have taken on the role of Hamlet, including Sarah Bernhardt, Frances de la Tour, Maxine Peake and, more recently, Cush Jumbo. Sir Ian McKellen played the Prince of Denmark at 81 in a production that was age, colour and gender blind. The black actor Adrian Lester was a magnificent Henry V at the National Theatre.
Romeo and Juliet have been played at many ages. Franco Zeffirelli’s film with Olivier Hussey at 16 and Leonard Whiting at 17 caused controversy over the nudity required of these young actors that has reverberated for decades, resulting in a lawsuit. This was thrown out in 2023 and a second lawsuit was started in 2024. And yet in 16th century Italy brides were often as young as 14 years old.
After Shakespeare, the most famous version of this tale is the 1961 film of West Side Story. This depicts the warring families in New York as Caucasian and Puerto Rican. Many members of the Puerto Rican gang, including Natalie Wood as Maria, were played by non-Hispanic actors. The Spielberg remake in 2021, despite care in casting Hispanic actors, did not satisfy everyone as Maria was not played by a Puerto Rican.
When characters are not even in human shape
Some people always want arguments, especially over fictional characters. When Ian Fleming created James Bond he created a white character, but does he need to be played by a white man? Doctor Who was first played by a white man, but the character is not even a human being, so should skin colour matter?
The comments about Halle Bailey being cast as The Little Mermaid were offensive and ridiculous. Sorry boys but mermaids are fantastical! As well as being fictional they are not even of human shape, and fish for their tails could come in many colours.
