'Hard to Believe' Blacks in a Tudor Play

Oliver Chris the director and writer of RSC production Ralegh: The Treason Trial tweeted about  a four point letter of complaint, from a  spokesperson for party of eight from Market Harborough , advising him the production 'could have so much better' if he had addressed their issues.

At number four was the observation 'we found it hard to believe that in 1603 there were any black people participating in the trial'

This is as ignorant as those commentators on the BBC who inspired me and the John Blanke project claiming it would be historically 'inaccurate or inauthentic' to have a black person in an Elizabethan drama or Quentin Letts when he claimed that it was 'politically correct casting' to have black characters in an RSC production of a  17th century play.

The eight could check their facts or read Miranda Kaufmann's Black Tudors especially her chapter on Francis Drake's African assistant,  Diego 

These responses are why the John Blanke Project is so important as it challenges this ignorance thru having such folk use their imagination and read the histories.