Friday, November 22

Tag: Lorraine Hansberry

A Raisin in the Sun – Leeds Playhouse
Yorkshire & Humber

A Raisin in the Sun – Leeds Playhouse

With confidence it can be assured that I was one of many who walked away from this show truly moved, in fact more than that. Inspired. A beautifully dedicated performance to the true beauty of culture and history was portrayed up on that stage, as eyes were opened to the struggles and prejudice that the black community faced in the 60’s. The story meets an aspirational family with finance as the root cause of all their problems, son, and father Walter Lee is power hungry and desperate for a change in funds. With his mother, sister, wife, and son all bundled into one home he feels the pressure to provide a better future for his family, although his chances seem slim the long-awaited cheque from his father’s passing is what keeps his hopes alive. Solomon Israel was truly fascinating in hi...
Les Blancs – National Theatre at Home
London

Les Blancs – National Theatre at Home

Writer Lorraine Hansberry was a remarkable woman who, despite her early death at age 34, conquered Broadway as the first black writer to see her play ‘Raisin in the Sun’ performed on stage in 1959.  She followed her father into activism and wrote for the newspaper ‘Freedom’, working alongside Africans and African Americans.  This work; and seeing a production called ‘Les Negres’ (The Blacks), inspired Hansberry to write ‘Les Blancs’, which she began writing in 1960 and completed it just before her death.   After her death the play was adapted by her ex-husband Robert Nemiroff.  The 1970 Broadway production was staged at the Longacre Theatre and the National Theatre’s production took place in 2016. The play follows the visit of journalist Charlie Morris (Elliot C...