Original Theatre Royal, Dublin, Ireland broadside advertising "The African Roscius" in three starring roles in "The Slave," "Virginian Mummy" and "The Black Doctor." Letterpress broadside, 7.5 x 14.5 inches; disbound on left edge, minor wear and overall toning, minor losses to center and along edges, laid down to pale pink backing and framed to overall 10 x 17 inches.

The top billing is for the February 25, 1847 performances of the great English operatic soprano, Anna Bishop (1810 - 1884) in "Three favorite operas [selections from Anna Bolena, Love Spell, Sonnambula], being, most positively, her only appearance, as she leaves Dublin Tomorrow morning." The lower third of the broadside is given over to advertisements for Aldridge, who "having been received with most enthusiastic applause, will make his Third and Fourth Appearances On Saturday and Monday Next" in "Slave," "Virginian Mummy" and "The Black Doctor."

A rare original performance broadside from the the expatriate African-American Shakespearean actor, who made a name for himself as an actor in London and is one of the most celebrated artists of his time for breaking gender and racial barriers onstage. He is widely considered to be the first notable African American actor.  This program is from a series of performances by Aldridge at the height of his fame, by which point, he was known as "the African Roscius" after the ancient Roman actor.

The first performance listed is as Gambia in Thomas Mortan's The Ethiopian, otherwise known and as shown here, as The Slave. One crucial scene in the play takes place in a prison, after Aldridge's character liberates an imprisoned white captive and subsequently submits himself to slavery once again in a moment of self-sacrifice. Next, in the 1835 farce The Virginia Mummy, Aldridge portrayed the black waiter Ginger Blue, a comic character first made famous by blackface minstrel T. D. Rice.  And finally, in The Black Doctor, a melodrama that tackles the topics of race and class with a European backdrop, Aldridge played Fabian, a “black doctor” who saves the Pauline Reynerie, the daughter of a French aristocrat, from death. After healing Pauline, the two fall in love, and they privately marry, leading to a conflict with Pauline’s mother based on class and race. The plot follows predictable lines of melodrama and romance leading to Fabian’s death by the end of the play.

Born in New York City, New York to free blacks Reverend Daniel and Lurona Aldridge, he joined the prestigious African Grove Theatre, an all-black theatre troupe in 1821, but emigrated in 1824 in search of greater opportunities. He moved to England and made his debut in London in 1825 as Othello at the Theatre Royal Covent Garden, a role he would remain associated with until his death. The critic reviews gave Aldridge the name Roscius (the celebrated Roman actor of tragedy and comedy). Aldridge embraced it and began using the stage name “The African Roscius.” He even created the myth that he was the descendant of a Senegalese Prince whose family was forced to escape to the United States to save their lives. This deception erased Aldridge’s American upbringing and cast him as an exotic and almost magical being. He slowly worked his way up through the regional theaters of Great Britain and Ireland and went on to a long career, touring frequently and collecting honors around Europe as one of England's leading actors. He is the only actor of African descent to be honored with a plaque at the Shakespeare Memorial Theater.