Review: A Raisin in the Sun at Manchester’s Royal Exchange

Feb 10 2010 by Francesca Elliott, Chester Chronicle

A RAISIN IN THE SUN/Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, until February 20

REVIEW/By Francesca Elliott

A RAISIN In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry is proving as popular today as it was when it first opened on Broadway in 1959.

Currently showing at Manchester's Royal Exchange until February 20, the play, which was the first written by a black woman to be shown on Broadway, follows the story of the Younger family as they struggle to survive in a small rundown apartment in 1950s Chicago.

The family, consisting of matriarch Lena, her children Walter Lee and Beneatha, Walter's wife Ruth and their son Travis, are waiting for an insurance cheque for £10,000 to arrive, following the death of Lena's husband.

Practical Lena wants to buy a proper house for her family and pay for daughter Beneatha’s college fees, but her frustrated and head strong son Walter has other ideas and demands money to invest in a liquor store business.

The play simmers with family resentments and their frustrations at the lack of opportunity for the black community.

Scraping a living as a limo driver, Walter is desperate to pursue the American dream and become a wealthy business owner, his frustrations often casting a shadow over his relationship with wife Ruth.

Walter’s energy and desperation is portrayed well by actor Ray Fearon, a familar face on British television, while Tracy Ifeachor’s portrayal of Beneatha’s confidence in her own intelligence and ambitions but confusion over her sense of identity, is one of the highlights of the show.

All the actors are well cast, talented and believable, but it is American actress Starletta DuPois who lends gravitas to the show, becoming the glue that binds the action together.

The show is moving, uncomfortable, sad and funny in turn and the rare chance to see such a powerful and historically important piece of theatre should not be missed.

Contact the box office on 0161 833 9833.