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Black theater
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Lenny Henry as Elmore stands in a light suit and hat beside Aaron Pierre as King Hedley, who sits in a chair, on a dimly lit stage set resembling a weathered house. Paul Robeson A Raisin in the Sun Suzan-Lori Parks Branden Jacobs-Jenkins
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Lenny Henry as Elmore stands in a light suit and hat beside Aaron Pierre as King Hedley, who sits in a chair, on a dimly lit stage set resembling a weathered house.
King Hedley II Lenny Henry (left) as Elmore and Aaron Pierre as King Hedley in a production of August Wilson's play King Hedley II, directed by Nadia Fall at Theatre Royal Stratford East in London, 2019.

Black theater

American theater
Also known as: African American theater, black theatre
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History

Black theater, in the United States, a dramatic movement encompassing plays written by, for, and about African Americans. The minstrel shows of the early 19th century are believed by some to be the roots of Black theater, but they initially were written by white people, acted by white performers in blackface, and performed for white audiences. After the American Civil War, Black actors began to perform in minstrel shows (then called “Ethiopian minstrelsy”), and by...

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