Lyric Hammersmith’s rendition of the seminal A Raisin in the Sun leaves no question to its continued legacy and relevance.
The Younger family lives on the South side of Chicago in a rundown two bedroom apartment. The residents of the household – Walter and Ruth with her son Travis, Walter’s sister Beneatha, and Walter and Beneatha’s mother Lena, are awaiting a $10 000 cheque that will change their lives. As a black family in America, they have been subjected to the storied and transgressive oppression that weaves throughout the legacy and history of the United States. This cheque, coming as the payment of Lena’s late husband’s life insurance, understandably has created varying ideas for its use in the minds of the household. Walter works as a chauffeur driver, just about making it by. Walter yearns for wealth, and perceives his economic status as a self-imposed calamity. His frustrations bleed out into misogynistic outbursts, aided by alcohol. He has mapped out a business plan for a liquor store, which he plans to open with his peers. Believing that the cheque should go towards the business, which Walter believes will lift them out of poverty, tension boils between him and his sister Beneatha. Beneatha, a smart, self-assured woman with a keen moral compass and sense of liberation, believes that their mother should do with the money whatever she chooses. Lena, stoic and calm, holds the household together, a matriarch if there ever was one. Considerate Ruth yearns for the health and happiness of her family, supported by the conscientious demeanour of her son Travis.
Playwright Lorraine Hansberry has created a play that has taken its place in the canon of iconic works of theatre. The first play on Broadway to be written by a black woman, this rendition of A Raisin in the Sun reminds us of its influence. Each character bursts off the stage, so wholly actualised it is almost unfathomable. Tinuke Craig’s direction offers a contemporary spin, making use of unconventional space within the playing space, while still honouring its original ideation.
The cast, made up of Gilbert Kyem Jnr. George as George, Kenneth Omole as Bobo/Joseph, Joséphine-Fransilja Brookman as Beneatha, Cash Holland as Ruth, Solomon Israel as Walter Lee, Jonah Russel as Carl, and Doreene Blackstock as Lena delivered exceptional performances all around, living up the the excellence of the creative team.
A Raisin in the Sun, as one could only ever expect, is overwhelmingly worth a watch. Catch it before it closes on 2 November at Lyric Hammersmith.