Leeds Playhouse
Revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s play follows a family struggling against the odds and delivers a message of hope
When Lorraine Hansberry’s debut play premiered in 1959, it marked a groundbreaking moment in modern American theatre. Her drama, about a Black family set to move into a white neighbourhood in segregation-era Chicago, became the first play by a Black woman to be produced on Broadway – and one performed by a largely Black cast.
The story of the impoverished Younger family whose recently deceased patriarch has left them with insurance money that may help realise their dreams, retains its power, with resonant themes of class, male chauvinism, assimilation and generational difference in the Black community.
At Leeds Playhouse until 28 September. Then at Oxford Playhouse, 2-5 October; Lyric Hammersmith, London, 8 October-2 November; and Nottingham Playhouse, 5-16 November.
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