Alan Cumming has voiced hope his involvement in A Strange Loop will “broaden the demographic” who attend the play’s premiere in London.
The Scottish actor, known for GoldenEye and X-Men 2, is a producer of the musical which is opening at the Barbican Theatre on Saturday after a successful Broadway run.
The musical is described as telling the story of Usher, who is a “black, queer writer writing a musical about a black, queer writer writing a musical about a black, queer writer”.
Cumming told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: “I came on board as an investor initially, then as a producer, because I feel that sadly… when there is (a) black story with black performers, I think the rest of us don’t think that’s for us.
“I’m here to say that more white people need to go to those shows, and to learn and to support and to advocate and to be an ally.
“I hope my involvement in it will broaden the demographic and more people will see this incredible piece.”
During its 2022/23 Broadway season, the show – written by playwright and composer Michael R Jackson and also produced by Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Hudson – was nominated for 11 Tony Awards and went on to win best musical and best book of a musical.
In 2020, the production clinched a Pulitzer Prize for drama gong which has previously been won by the hit historical musical Hamilton.
Cumming said he has “learned so much” about the “perception of black people in our culture”.
The 58-year-old actor added: “There’s some hilarious bits in the show when Tyler Perry is roasted mercilessly about the kind of tropes and the stereotypes that he promotes from within the black community.
“So things like that I had no idea about and it’s a brilliant piece of work.”
Perry, known for his films featuring the character of Madea, an angry, elderly black woman, has been praised for promoting diversity in front of and behind the camera and won the ultimate icon gong at the Black Entertainment Television awards in 2019.
However, the 53-year-old director, actor and writer has also faced criticism from other filmmakers, such as BlacKkKlansman director Spike Lee who said in 2009 the images in his movies are “troubling” and they put black America back in terms of progress.
However, Lee later praised Perry on Instagram in 2019 for naming his sound stages at his film studio complex in Atlanta after him, saying he should “keep doing God’s work”.
Elsewhere, Cumming also spoke about what he called a period of “trouble and readjustment” in the SNP following the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon as Scottish first minister.
He said: “It’s traumatic for everybody, it’s traumatic for the people of Scotland.
“But I think the plan… for independence is based on the Westminster Government respecting the will of, not just the Scottish people, but the Scottish devolved Parliament.
“I think that’s a big issue, as well as the other devolved Parliaments are not being respected and indeed being derided by Westminster.”
Humza Yousaf, who succeeded Ms Sturgeon as SNP leader and First Minister in March, has vowed to mount a legal challenge after the UK Government used its powers to block reforms to the gender recognition process for trans people which were passed by Holyrood.
