Elon Musk and other critics have condemned Christopher Nolan's decision to cast Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy in his upcoming $250m adaptation of The Odyssey, calling it a desecration of Homer's epic. But long before Nolan, Orson Welles pioneered colour-blind casting with his 1936 'Voodoo' Macbeth, which featured an all-Black cast and set the play in Haiti.
Welles was only 20 when he directed the federally funded production in Harlem. He transformed the witches into voodoo priestesses and incorporated African drummers and dancers. The play was a critical and commercial success, drawing mixed Black and white audiences and earning rave reviews. Welles later called it 'my great success in my life.'
Critics of Nolan's casting argue that Helen of Troy is 'historically white,' but Nyong'o has noted that the character is a mythological demigod, open to creative interpretation. Welles's production similarly faced criticism from Shakespeare purists and some Harlem Communists, but it was ultimately celebrated for its innovation.
Welles's approach to casting and storytelling challenged racial norms decades before the current culture wars. His 'Voodoo' Macbeth remains a landmark in colour-blind casting, predating Nolan's Odyssey by nearly 90 years.
