The Forgotten Talent of Amanda Ira Aldridge, with Stephen Bourne & Patricia Hammond

Amanda Ira Aldridge, one of the most important female composers of the 20th century has been all but forgotten.

Daughter of the groundbreaking actor Ira Aldridge, Amanda, was also a singer and in her latter years a voice teacher. One of her pupils was Paul Robeson who approached her when he cane to the UK to play Othello. He was only the second black actor to play the role. Amanda's father Ira had been the first!
Under the name Montague Ring, Amanda was a composer of many songs and her instrumental music was used in the silent movies.

Image courtesy of Stephen Bourne.

Guest: Stephen Bourne
Stephen Bourne is a writer, film and social historian specialising in black heritage and gay culture. His best-known book is Black Poppies – Britain’s Black Community and the Great War. Stephen's most recent publication is Deep Are the Roots , which celebrates the pioneers of black British theatre, beginning in 1825 when Ira Aldridge made history as the first black actor to play Shakespeare’s Othello in the United Kingdom, and ending in 1975 with the success of Britain’s first black-led theatre company. Stephen has written extensively on Amanda Ira Aldridge.

https://stephenbourne.co.uk/
For a list of Stephen's books:
https://stephenbourne.co.uk/books/
Follow Stephen on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/blackpoppies14

Featuring: Patricia Hammond
https://patriciahammond.com/
youtube.com/patriciahammondsongs

Patricia's book on female composers features a chapter dedicated to Amanda Ira Aldridge
https://www.valleypressuk.com/book/126/she_wrote_the_songs
Follow Patricia on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/hammondpatricia

Music:
Patricia Hammond, Voice
Matt Redman, zither banjo
Andrea Kmecova, piano

Host: Lottie Walker
Editor: Jacob Taylor

And a note from us:
Thank you for listening. If you'd like to help us in our work in keeping the podcast going and the memories of all these lovely people alive, do please consider becoming a patron. It's really easy to do, just go to :
https://www.patreon.com/bluefiretheatre
if you're more co

Thank you for listening. If you've enjoyed today's podcast do subscribe via your streaming platform so that you never miss an episode and you can catch up on past episodes.

If you'd like to help us to keep the podcast going in these tough times, please consider becoming a patron. It's really easy to do. Just go to :
https://www.patreon.com/bluefiretheatre
if you're more comfortable with a one off donation you can do this via our website:
https://www.bluefiretheatre.co.uk/
or buy us a coffee on:
https://ko-fi.com/bluefiretheatre
Even the smallest donation helps us get our shows on the road and keep the lights on in the studio and we are so grateful for all your help and support.

And finally...don't forget to follow us on social media. We'd love to hear from you!
Find us at:
https://twitter.com/famous_heard
https://www.instagram.com/bluefire_tc
https://www.facebook.com/bluefirepodcast

The Forgotten Talent of Amanda Ira Aldridge, with Stephen Bourne & Patricia Hammond

Famous People You've Never Heard Of

Where can you listen?

Episodes