Playwright
Carlyle
Brown
THE
NEGRO OF PETER THE GREAT
One of the most
powerful Russian Czars, a kidnapped African prince, romance, war and political
intrigue… These are the fa
cts
in the true story of Ibrahim Hannibal, originally told in Alexander Pushkin’s
unfinished novella The Negro of Peter the Great. In the play of
the same title by acclaimed African-American playwright Carlyle Brown, Ibrahim,
godson of Czar Peter the Great and great-grandfather of Pushkin, becomes more
than a fascinating historical character. Taken from Abyssinia into the royal
Russian court, he’s treated like a son by the Czar. But even with his
education, military training and rank, and the ‘protection of Peter the Great,
Ibrahim cannot escape the reality of his race, and all that it means in 18th
century Europe.
World Premiere:
Alabama Shakespeare Festival 2001
Nominated for The
American Theatre Critics New Play Award 2001
Published: New
Dramatists Best Plays of the Graduating Class of 2001