Lorraine Hansberry’s groundbreaking play A Raisin in the Sun, the first on Broadway written by a black woman, will tour to Liverpool Playhouse from 2nd to 5th March. This new production is directed by Eclipse Theatre’s Dawn Walton.
An intense family drama, written on the cusp of the civil rights era, sees the Younger family await the arrival of a cheque for a life changing $10,000. Driven to conflict as they encounter issues of inequality, housing and lack of opportunity that continue to resonate today, the play acts as a stark warning to anyone who measures happiness and personal worth in capital gain.
This brand new production will star Ashley Zhangazha as Walter, in one of the great roles of American theatre. Ashley’s critically-acclaimed roles on stage include Henry V for the Michael Grandage Company and alongside Lenny Henry in Fences in the West End. Ashley won the 2013 Ian Charleson Award for his performance in Macbeth at the Sheffield Crucible.
Ashley will be joined by Angela Wynter as Lena Younger. Her stage roles include the West End production of The Lion King and The Amen Corner at the National Theatre. Angela is well known for a long-running role in EastEnders, playing Yolande Trueman and will shortly be back on screens as returning character Ifa Effanga in Holby City (B.B.C.).
The cast will be completed by Susan Wokoma, Alisha Bailey, Everal A. Walsh, Mike Burnside and Aron Julius. Adryan Dorset Pitt, Solomon Gordon and Kiano Samuels will share the role of Travis Younger.
Following its debut on Broadway in 1959, Lorraine Hansberry adapted her play into a critically-acclaimed film starring Sidney Poitier as Walter. Testament to its continuing power and relevance, A Raisin in the Sun has been revived numerous times in the intervening years and Walter has been portrayed on stage by actors including Denzel Washington and Danny Glover.
Eclipse Artistic Director Dawn Walton said: “In A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry has meticulously created the world of a family in a small apartment in 1950s Southside Chicago that has the power to resonate across the Atlantic and through time with us here to today.”
Eclipse Theatre Company is the leading black-led national touring company. Eclipse aim to use the Black British experience to create new work and raise the profile of Black theatre makers. Previous tours include The Hounding of David Oluwale (at the Everyman in 2009), SUS (2010), One Monkey Don’t Stop No Show (2011 and 2013) and Sizwe Banzi is Dead (at the Playhouse Studio in 2014).
Tickets for Raisin in the Sun are available to purchase from the Liverpool Playhouse Box office, by telephone on 0151 7094776 or online at www.everymanplayhouse.com. Tickets are priced at £10-£22.
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