Raisin in the Sun

Raisin in the Sun description

There’s a thrilling new production of Lorraine Hansberry’s classic American drama A Raisin in the Sun in town, set to ignite audiences once more. This is the first play by a black woman to be staged on Broadway, still as powerful and relevant as it was back in 1959.

This exciting new production is directed by Tinuke Craig (Jitney, The Color Purple), a drama described as groundbreaking, pioneering and challenging. A classic family epic full of humour and heart, it has been called the best play ever written.

In recent years has seen a resurgence, praised widely as just as relevant in a world that remains divided by inequality. While New York Times called it a play that changed American theatre forever, racism and intolerance are still alive and well there - as well as here.

A hard-hitting family drama full of heart

First published and produced in 1959, the title comes from a poem by Langston Hughes examining what happens when dreams are deferred. Do they dry up and die? It’s a fascinating question explored in a penetrating psychological study of working-class black life on the impoverished South Side of Chicago in the late 1940s. Sadly it reflects the playwright’s own experiences, adding extra poignancy.

A play that refused to be suppressed

The story goes like this. Walter Lee Younger wants to use his dad’s life insurance payout to open a liquor store with two friends. His mum uses it to make a down-payment on a smart house in a white neighbourhood and Walter gets the leftovers. A story of theft, intolerance and racial segregation ensues, leading Walter to a brave decision.

Having an almost all black cast made funding the play’s launch a challenge back in the late 1950s. But the producer Philip Rose managed, Sidney Poitier took the starring role in New York, and audiences and critics alike went mad for it. A 1960 movie followed, then a 1973 musical, 1989 TV film, 1996 BBC radio play, Broadway revivals in 2004 and 2014, a 2008 movie, and an off Broadway revival in 2022.

Playing at Lyric Hammersmith

King Street, Lyric Square, London, W6 0QL GB (venue info)

Directions