Hansberry’s family drama focuses on a black family, the Youngers, who reside on the Southside of Chicago in 1959. Even though the family work they barely earn enough money to cover the rent. Therefore, when the head of the family passes away, the family wait in earnest for the insurance cheque of $10,000 which will make their dreams come true. Each family member has their own aspirations for the money and the family soon begin to fall apart as the thoughts of money consume them.

As soon as I entered the theatre I was instantly in awe of the set which was designed by Ellen Cairns. Cairns had managed to capture the realistic essence of a 1950s home on such a small set. The set consisted of a small kitchen, a living room, chairs and a sofa which also acts as a bed for the youngest member of the family, Travis. The set was also positioned in the round which allowed the audience to become part of the action . As well as this subtle touches were also added throughout the production. At one point in the production the daughter of the family, Beneatha (Tracey Ifeachor), uses a 1950s cockroach spray which positively had me itching by the end of the scene.

The acting was also phenomenal. Starletta Dupois gave an exceptionally emotional performance as the matriarch of the family, Lena Walter. Dupois captured the essence of a mother in turmoil as she tries to keep her family’s spirit alive. Dupois’ performance was complimented by Ray Fearon, who plays her son Walter Lee in the production. Fearon took the audience on an emotional rollercoaster.  I experienced the incredible highs of when Walter Lee believes he has solved his family’s financial problems, to the devastating lows when he destroys there one chance of achieving their dreams. This then resulted in me dabbing my eyes frequently throughout the play!

However, in my opinion the actress who really shook the audience to its core was Jenny Jules. Jules played Ruth, Walter Lee’s wife, and is the character that experiences the most extreme emotional challenges.  Ruth’s love for Walter is put to the test when she shows him a support even though she disagrees with his financial plans. Ruth is also faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to keep her unborn child due to the family’s financial situation. However, what made Jules’ performance really stand out for me was the sense of humour she bought to the role.

There is also an underlying discourse of race running through the play. This comes in form of Lena purchasing a property for her family in an all white area of Chicago. Karl Linder (Tom Hodgkins) is then nominated by his peers to act as “the welcoming committee” in hopes to try and persuade the Younger’s not to move. This motif was made even more powerful by the fact that Hansberry had  experienced similar circumstances.

Hansberry based the narrative on her own childhood. Hansberry’s family resided on the South Side of Chicago in the late 1950s. Hansberry’s father became involved in a legal battle with a covenant who attempted to evict the family from the all white area they lived in.

All in all the production was magnificent and is summarised perfectly by director Michael Buffong, “A Raisin in the Sun is a powerful, evocative piece and an uplifting one for audiences too!

www.royalexchangetheatre.org.uk

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Coming to the Royal Exchange theatre in February is the heart rendering classic, A Raisin In The Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry. The plot follows the Youngers, an African- American family, who are living on the south side of Chicago in the 1950s.

The play opens with the family awaiting the arrival of an insurance cheque. The money is coming as a result of the death of Mr Younger, but despite their grief the family realises that this money will solve all of their financial problems and allow their dreams to come true. Each member of the family has an idea of how the money should be put to good use.

Lena Younger (Starletta Dupois), the mother of the family, wishes to use the money to create the home her husband originally dreamed of. Her son, Walter Lee (Ray Fearon), dreams of investing in a liquor store with his friends whereas his sister Beneatha (Tracy Ifeachor) wants to go to medical school.

However, as the play progresses the family soon begin to clash and it soon becomes clear that achieving their dreams will be harder than they ever imagined.

Catch A Raisin In The Sun at the Royal Exchange from January 27 until February 20 at 7.30pm.

Tickets: From £8.50 to £29.50.

Preview Tickets:
The first Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night of each show is a preview, where all seats are half-price

Happy Mondays:
Anyone aged 25 and under can get best available seats for only £4. Only two seats per booking. Mondays only.

Full Time Students:
Half price standby tickets on the day available for any performance, except restrictions shown.

Royal Exchange Theatre, St Ann’s Square, Manchester, M2 7DH.

T: 0161 833 9833
E: box.office@royalexchange.co.uk
W: www.royalexchangetheatre.org.uk

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Hitting the Contact Theatre in February is Pen-Ultimate with their debut show A Night on the Tiles. Described as “Manchester’s freshest lyrical outfit” Pen-Ultimate is a hip-hop theatre group made up of Ben Mellor, Martin Stannage, Niven Ganner, Frisko Dan and Samira Arhin-Acquaah who combine their talents to make up a theatre and spoken word collective.

The plot, which was inspired by the famous poker game scene in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, follows a group of seedy underworld gangsters who are competing in a high stakes Scrabble tournament. Pen-Ultimate blend theatre, spoken word, music and video to convey the narrative across to the audience.

This promises to be an exciting production and I am looking forward to reviewing it as I have never had the chance to experience a piece of theatre like this before.

Thursday, February 4 to Saturday, February 13, 7:30pm (plus 1:30pm on Tuesday, February  9 and Thursday, February 11)

The prices are £10 full price and concessions (under 18; registered disabled; unemployed; full-time student or over 60) are £6.

FREEACT is a scheme that allows people under 26 to see theatre for free.  All they have to do is fill out a form and return it to Contact Theatre and then they get to see five free shows a year.  It’s a great way of getting young people to experience drama – it would be great if you could mention it in relation to A Night On The Tiles and the rest of our programme as well.

Early bird half price tickets available from January 4-13.

www.contact-theatre.org

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UPDATE…I’ve just heard the play is being performed again which is great news for anyone who missed it first time round because it was sold out. Angels With Manky Faces will be performed at the Dancehouse on Friday, November 6 at 8pm and Sunday, November 8 at 3pm and 7pm. Tickets are £10 (£9 concs).

Dancehouse Theatre, Oxford Road.
T: 0161 237 9753
W: Dancehouse Theatre

Inspired by the book Gangs of Manchester, the play Angels With Manky Faces is about the gangs – or scuttlers – that roamed the streets in the ninteenth century. But more importantly, the book and the play both remind us that binge drinking, casual sex, gang warfare and
street crime are far from being modern phenomena.

I bought the book, Gangs of Manchester, which was written by historian Andrew Davies, before I went to the play and it was fascinating. And it makes you realise that when people hark back to the good old days, they certainly weren’t these times. Manchester during the Industrial Revolution times sounds downright scary – and however much I say I’m skint, my standard of living is just pure luxury compared how the factory workers used to live.

Rob Lees and Jill Hughes of MaD theatre company, a community not-for-profit dramatics company in Manchester, collaborated with author Andrew Davies to come up with this modern take on the story. Set in Ancoats in 1894 when the Industrial Revolution was in full swing and the year the Manchester Ship Canal opened, overcrowding and heavy drinking were real problems in this area.

Leader of the Bengal Tigers of Bengal Street (near where Sankeys is now), Jimmy Johnson was played by the excellent Jack Williamson. Much of the play depicted the gang going off to fight others, the girls causing trouble between the gangs and the raucous local pub.

Directed by Rob Lees, the play was interspersed with film as part of the performance which worked really well at keeping the audience’s interest. Well-known Mancunian faces popped up to perform songs including band Twisted Wheel, Mike Joyce of The Smiths and XfM DJ Clint Boon. Also appearing in the film section were Rob Henshaw, from Looking for Eric, as did Coronation Street actor Graeme Hawley, although I didn’t know who either of them were.

At the risk of sounding older than my years, I did find the whole performance really loud as the actors were shouting and screeching at each other in exaggerated Manchester accents (must be my delicate outsider ears). The only other downside was that it would have benefited from a stronger plot, rather than just trying to depict the lives of the characters.

Overall, the play was incredibly successful selling out all dates from August 17-22, and was a really brave outing as well as a massive coup for a community theatre company to get all those well-known Manchester faces involved.

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