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A Raisin In The Sun
A Raisin In The Sun
Royal Exchange
February 2, 2010
A HUGE, award-winning, Broadway hit in the late 1950s, Lorraine Hansberry’s compassionate and gently humorous family saga has always been viewed as a cornerstone in the development of Black theatre.
But cornerstones – most certainly theatrical ones – can crumble and a half century on, does this story of a black lower-class Chicago family, striving to better themselves in the face of racism and the temptations of a fast buck, still work as theatre and relevant social comment?
Well, 50 years ago it was very much ahead of its time and thanks to an excellent Royal Exchange production it certainly worked for the first night audience, who gave it a cheering, whooping , standing ovation.
Making her UK stage debut, the exotically-named American actress Starletta DuPois heads a very strong cast. She is Mama Lena Younger, the matriarch of the family, whose 10,000 dollars of insurance money, following the death of her husband, is the pivotal point of the play.
Powerful protest
It’s a role DuPois has already played in an Emmy award-winning TV version and she is entirely at home in her skin here as the deeply caring but stand-no-nonsense proud head of the family.
When she ignores the wishes of her son and buys a house in an all-white suburb, the family’s problems begin in earnest.
Eldest son Walter wants to open a liquor store, whereas his wife Ruth is simply delighted to move out of their cockroach-infested apartment. Walter’s young sister Beneatha is more interested in investigating her African roots.
Ray Fearon, as the frustrated, restless, ambitious, self-deluding Walter, gives a magnificently judged, barnstorming performance. But Jenny Jules as his put-upon but still devoted wife and Tracy Ifeachor, as the impulsive Beneatha, are totally convincing too.
Director Michael Buffong has pulled the long – three hour - evening together with a clear passion for the text and despite a little too much of the four-square, well-made-play, about it, and despite a few too many too-obvious clichés, the piece emerges as a powerful protest against racial injustice but above all as a moving story of real people you actually grow to know and care about.
Until February 20, 2010. Royal Exchange, St Ann’s Square, Manchester. Evenings at 7.30; mats Wed/Sats at 2.30. Tickets £8.50 to £29.50. Box office 0161 833 9833 or www.royalexchange.co.uk.
Reviewed: Wed, 03 February, 2010
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Reviews (2)
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ecbian
05/02/10 09:40
This is an exceptional production, with strong performances from all the excellent cast. Starletta DuPois is capitavting as the widdowed Matriarch watching her children struggle to find their way in a changing but still cruel world. Jenny Jules is perfect as Ruth shackled by the need to focus on the practical.Tracey Ifeachor captures the spark of the wonderfully bright younger sister Benetha who battles to make sense of the restrictions that ecomomics and race place on her ambitions. And Ray Fearon is quite brilliant as Walter Lee, who starts the play as a somewhat unsympathetic foolish dreamer, is broken by events but thorugh that journey finds true inner strength.
As a whole the production delievers an emotional evening where we truely engage with the characters.
Written 50 years ago this play remains startlingly fresh. A complete "Must See". Bravo
This review is the opinion of a CityLife reader and not that of CityLife itself
Julia Coulton
West Didsbury
29/01/10 23:52
This play by Lorraine Hansberry set in the south side of Chicago in the 1950s was the first play by a black woman to be produced on Broadway. And it must have really put the cat amongst the pigeons when it first played, dealing as it does with issues of racism, segregation, and the place of their African heritage in the lives of fifth generation black Americans.
Lena is the matriarch of the family, whose husband has died leaving her with a financial legacy bigger than her wildest dreams. But it is not bigger than the dreams of her son Walter, who badly wants the freedom and dignity that he thinks the money will bring. Ray Fearon, last seen by me helping Kevin out in the garage, not very convincingly in Corrie, is surprisingly first class in his powerful portrayal of the angry and resentful Walter, whose plans go painfully awry. There is also great support from Jenny Jules as his wife Ruth, who just longs to get out of their cockroach infested rented apartment and have a home of their own. And also from Tracey Ifeachor, as his younger sister Beneatha, who is studying hard to be doctor against all expectations for a young black woman at the time. The play is still capable of invoking a passionate reaction from the audience too, despite the fact that it feels a little overlong, with a little tighter writing and sharper production being needed in places. And it must be said that Starletta DuPois has great difficulty in remembering her lines as Lena, in a way I must say that I have never seen before to such an extent at the Royal Exchange. Whether it was lack of rehearsal, or review night nerves, it did detract from the overall strength of the piece, which is unfortunate to say the least. As overall this play has a powerful message, and I will remember it for the anger, pain and ultimate dignity of Walter – Ray Fearon was truly wasted in Kevin’s garage, and he steals the show at the Royal Exchange.This review is the opinion of a CityLife reader and not that of CityLife itself
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