Harlem Theater Backdrop Blur
Harlem Theater Poster
Germany
NR 1h 34m

Harlem Theater

HARLEM, USA: in the aftermath of Martin Luther King’s murder, German filmmaker Klaus Wildenhahn turned his 16mm camera on the New Lafayette Theatre as its players rehearsed scenes, ran public workshops and conducted exercises in uptown Manhattan. New Lafayette (or NLT) had been founded by actor-director Robert Macbeth the previous year, with the aim of producing theater for black people, by black people, to reflect the experiences and vernacular of the Harlem community. Within the Black Arts Movement, NLT would become a significant institution: it published the journal Black Theatre, and employed a host of talents – including the Black Panthers’ Minister of Culture, Ed Bullins, and the great pianist Junior Mance, both of whom appear in Wildenhahn’s film as resident collaborators.

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Top Cast

  • Robert MacBeth

    Robert MacBeth

    Self

  • Ed Bullins

    Ed Bullins

    Self

  • Bobby Seale

    Bobby Seale

    Self

  • Yvette Hawkins

    Yvette Hawkins

    Self

  • George Miles

    George Miles

    Self

  • Gary Bolling

    Gary Bolling

  • Estelle Evans

    Estelle Evans

  • Peggy Kirkpatrick

    Peggy Kirkpatrick

  • Roscoe Orman

    Roscoe Orman

Overview

HARLEM, USA: in the aftermath of Martin Luther King’s murder, German filmmaker Klaus Wildenhahn turned his 16mm camera on the New Lafayette Theatre as its players rehearsed scenes, ran public workshops and conducted exercises in uptown Manhattan. New Lafayette (or NLT) had been founded by actor-director Robert Macbeth the previous year, with the aim of producing theater for black people, by black people, to reflect the experiences and vernacular of the Harlem community. Within the Black Arts Movement, NLT would become a significant institution: it published the journal Black Theatre, and employed a host of talents – including the Black Panthers’ Minister of Culture, Ed Bullins, and the great pianist Junior Mance, both of whom appear in Wildenhahn’s film as resident collaborators.

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