The next play in the University of Louisville’s 2014-15 season is a bit meta – it’s the story of a theater troupe preparing for an upcoming show.

The Department of Theatre Arts and the African American Theatre Program (AATP) will present “The African Company Presents Richard III” from March 4-8 at Thrust Theatre.

Set 40 years before the Civil War, the play tells the true story of a troupe of black actors in early 1800s New York. When The African Company tries to mount a production of the Shakespeare classic “Richard III,” a white producer attempts to shut them down to mount his own production with an English star. 

Directed by associate professor Baron Kelly, director of the AATP, the show features theater students Tyler Madden as William Henry Brown and James Stringer Jr. as James Hewlett, the actor starring as Richard III for The African Company.

“The travails of The African Company to showcase the talent of black actors in the face of adversity are filled with the kind of drama that can only come from an actual event,” Kelly said. “This production brings the story back to life and illustrates a pivotal moment in the history of theater.”

*3 p.m. matinee showing on March 8th