Anne Boleyn as a black woman

[Frustratedbeyondbelief]

Am anyone explain why ? I know this question raises the issue of race which is highly controversial. It is not meant to be goady.. just perplexed by what they are trying to achieve. To me like playing GHandi and Martin Luther King as while men..

For context I hope my non racial credentials as a mother of mixed race children assist in not seeing this as an 'anti black' thread ... I genuinely would like to be educated as to why this is thought to be a 'good thing' when simply factually incorrect . ? Her home at Hever is less than a mile away, I have never had any idea she was black or mixed race. Just seems a bit 'trendy' ...

Such an overdone story.

Didn’t Anne Boyle. Have half Irish ancestry on both maternal & paternal sides? She was due to marry her cousin duke of Orlando?

@osbertthesyrianhamster

Such an overdone story.

Was going to say the same! There've been so many books, films and TV series on the Tudors. Surely other historical periods are available?

If a white man was cast to play Muhammad Ali there would be uproar

FFS. It’s not the same and you know it. Part of Muhammed Ali’s story was his blackness.

There are nowhere nearly as many acting roles for black people as for white people.

I’m willing to give up on a bit of authenticity in exchange for equality and inclusivity.

It isn't about ticking boxes etc a great black actor shouldn't have roles they aren't able to play - great acting is great acting.

Age appropriate and obviously Shakespeare is known for having men playing women etc but I'm all for correct sex playing correct sex. I don't see why that impacts on what race you are when acting.

In real life we live in a world where a man can say he's female and dress like a girl and people are ok with that and saying he should be able to access female only spaces (not on here, mostly, I hope). That's truly stretching credulity.

However, saying to a great actor they can't play a particular historical role because they're the wrong colour is wrong and not tick boxing. Great acting is great acting.

Fiona Shaw was Richard 2nd on stage, for example.

@MadamBatty

Didn’t Anne Boyle. Have half Irish ancestry on both maternal & paternal sides? She was due to marry her cousin duke of Orlando?

No. Her mother belonged to the noble Howard family and her father was from an English gentry family. She may have had some Irish ancestry, but not to any great extent.

How is race not relevant to AB? She was in the English royal family at the time of the Tudors! Of course her race is integral to her story! If she'd been Black she wouldn't have been there or all of English history would look significantly different. Her race is every bit as important as Muhammad Ali's race is to his story.

Anne’s paternal grandmother Lady Margaret Butler was Irish. Born in County Kilkenny, daughter of the Earl of Ormond.

Fictional characters it does not matter. But I think historical figures should be played by actors that look similar to the person. So, Henry, the 8th is played usually by a white fat middle-aged man. Not a black 18-year-old woman.

I agree, I think all historical figures should be played by actors who resemble them in all things (hair, eyes, skin) as closely as possible. If it was the other way round there would be uproar.

I just think it’s a bit odd, like someone said earlier, it stopes you being able to suspend your disbelief and pulls you out of the story a bit.
A bit like seeing Ed Sheeran on game of thrones, it’s just odd.

As mentioned, bridgerton etc doesn’t seem odd as it’s not real, there was never a duke of Hastings.

People do get very upset if characters have the wrong hair/eye colour also, so whoever said people don’t care about that is dead wrong.
Game of thrones example again (can you tell I’m a fan lol) but people were losing their shit over the stark hair colours, and that fact syrio forell even had hair.

Although funnily enough, it only seems to be movies/tv shows I feel like this about.

A stage production I wouldn’t blink twice at a character of any description playing anyone tbh

Have you got an example of an actor playing a known historical figure of the opposite sex?

Cate Blanchett playing Bob Dylan in I’m Not There
Quentin Crisp playing Elizabeth I in Orlando

I'm interested in watching this portrayal. Anne has been acted out in so many facets, not always true to historical accounts. I'd be pissed off if they flipped her role to be portrayed by a man. 485 years ago today she was executed. I haven't seen anyone mention that fact.

Historical people in fictional dramatisations are fictional characters. Otherwise it would be a documentary. Dramatisations of historical events are always an interpretation, influenced by the writer/director/producer's own personal take given the culture/society they are in. There is no need at all to cater for people who watch a TV drama series and take it for literal historical truth and accuracy.

I couldn't care less if Henry VIII was played by a black 18 year old woman in a tv drama. It would be interesting to see what that would be like, rather than another version of the same old same old.

I guess this is just for publicity. So job done.

I wasn't keen on the guy playing Henry VIII from the clips I've seen, but Eric Bana was far less effective than Johnathan Rhys Myers - Australian and Irish respectively.

@DarcyLewis

It’s not actually the real Anne Boleyn.

It’s an actress pretending to be a fictionalised version of her.

Whether her skin tone, hair colour, height, weight or shoe size is the same as the actual Anne Boleyn is irrelevant to the story.

You say that it doesn't matter, but would any one play queen Elizabeth 1 without red hair? No, because that's a highly recognisable feature.

"Anne Boleyn was rather tall of stature, with black hair and an oval face of sallow complexion, as if troubled with jaundice."

That's interesting and I only googled because of this thread.

Many people today think Achilles was black, when he was white and blond, but Andromeda was white, when she was black.

Eh? Do you mean Achilles the figure from mythology, son of a sea nymph? And Andromeda, also from mythology? So neither of whom ever actually existed outside fiction?

I'm not white.
I don't understand it if I'm honest. I like historical characters to reflect how they may have looked at the time so I can imagine it and remember it that way.

I don't care about things like Shakespeare plays having black/white/purple actors because they are not 'real' characters but with Anne Boleyn it kind of does away with historical information available that suggests what she looked like.
Would be so much better if there were more diverse history programmes about people who have previously been ignored because of their skin colour or new content to create more diverse roles imo.

@JoveWhenHeSawMyFannysFace

Have you got an example of an actor playing a known historical figure of the opposite sex?

Cate Blanchett playing Bob Dylan in I’m Not There
Quentin Crisp playing Elizabeth I in Orlando

That's two. The poster said it happens 'frequently'.

And 'Orlando' is a fantasy, not a dramatisation of history, so doesn't really count.

Yes, Quentin was perfect as Elizabeth I in Orlando. So it can be what is required in a particular production. Not what is perfect as Elizabeth I.

In the book, that particular version of Elizabeth I is seen through the eyes of a young Orlando and how she makes him feel etc - not necessarily exactly how she is - and Quentin is perfect for that.

However, another film/tv/production requiring an Elizabeth I and Quentin would have been entirely inappropriate. So yes, it's acting and it is open to interpretation and shouldn't be constrained by expectations.

Keep real life should be constrained by reality.

Women playing male roles in Shakespeare's historical plays, and the others, is not unusual at all in theatre. There are many examples. But perhaps Shakespeare's interpretations of historical events don't count.

@Edume

How is race not relevant to AB? She was in the English royal family at the time of the Tudors! Of course her race is integral to her story! If she'd been Black she wouldn't have been there or all of English history would look significantly different. Her race is every bit as important as Muhammad Ali's race is to his story.

Don't be daft. You'll be saying white people suffer racism next

@AssassinatedBeauty

Women playing male roles in Shakespeare's historical plays, and the others, is not unusual at all in theatre. There are many examples. But perhaps Shakespeare's interpretations of historical events don't count.

We're talking TV, not theatre.

If this production is going for a 'stylised' view of history and not even attempting to be historically accurate, that would be one thing. But if it's going for reasonable historical accuracy - other than the fact that the king married a black woman - then it is basically stunt casting.