The new version of "Joan of Arc" is currently being staged at the Civic Theater in Glasgow, UK, from February 14th to March 21st. The play is directed by Tony Award winner Stuart Lane. The story tells how Joan of Arc led the French people to defeat the English in the last two years of her life and explores "the power of youth-led change."
Why did that drama make the news? Because the play stars black actress Mandipa Kabana as the French female warrior Joan of Arc. Many French people couldn't stand this and complained that the white horse she was riding looked more like Joan of Arc than she did.
Stewart Lane told Scotland's The National about his choice of Cabana to play Joan of Arc, saying: "I think young people do look at the people in power and are shocked by the political status quo, so they take action to change it. So I wanted to cast an actor who was close to the actual age of the historical figure, but I didn't feel obliged to be true to the race of the historical figure."