Review: A Raisin in the Sun

Dad’s Army (PG)

on general release

tony earnshaw 3/5

One of the great sacred cows of British TV gets a 21st century reimagining. Contrary to popular opinion it’s not at all bad.

To dismiss this new Dad’s Army out of hand is to do its ensemble cast an immense disservice. For what they have done – what they had to do – is give the characters a polish.

Thus this is not Toby Jones, Bill Nighy and co impersonating Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier and that ilk. Instead it is Jones – with heavyweights such as Tom Courtenay and Michael Gambon – presenting old favourites to a new audience. In truth it makes little sense to attempt a remake of such a beloved institution. But in doing so this is definitely the right route to take.

It’s 1944 and the Allies are preparing for D-Day. In Walmington-on-Sea Captain Mainwaring (Jones) and his platoon are assigned to patrol the coastal paths around a secret base. But all attention is diverted when journalist Rose Winters (Catherine Zeta-Jones) sashays into town. She’s writing a piece on the Home Guard and decides to focus on our local heroes. But then news breaks of a German spy operating in the vicinity. Who could it be? Surely not the glamorous Miss Winters…

This new adventure for our superannuated soldiers (plus dopey Pike and Walker the spiv) harks back to the TV series. All the building blocks are there. And at times it perfectly channels the writing of Jimmy Perry and David Croft.

Its biggest stumbling block is the slowness of the story to develop – that and a glaring lack of whimsy. But performances are generally spot-on, particularly the triumvirate of Toby Jones, Courtenay (playing Private Jones) and Gambon (a joy as Godfrey). It boasts a harder edge than the TV show and catchphrases are lobbed in without much thought but this Dad’s Army is far from the turkey some would have you believe.
stage

The Not So Late Show

The Wardrobe, Leeds

chris bond 4/5

There’s a common belief that there isn’t much going on in our theatres during the winter months once the pantomimes have shut up shop and rolled out of town. But it’s really not the case. Nevertheless, it was with some scepticism that I headed to the Wardrobe on a damp, miserable evening earlier this week to watch The Not So Late Show. Billed as a live alternative comedy chat show, this monthly performance features Ross Brierley and Joshua Sadler, hosts of the popular Ross & Josh Show on Radio Yorkshire.The live show is chaotic mix of guests, sketches, film and chat, with a large dollop of nonsense thrown in for good measure. The show, which has been garnering rave reviews on the grapevine, takes its cue from early Reeves and Mortimer while at the same time pokes fun at the American-style late night chat show format.It’s deliberately naff at times but that’s part of the off-the-wall humour and one of the reasons why, for the most part, it works.

One of the pleasing things about a night out like this is stumbling across someone you’ve never heard of before, and stand-up guest John Kearns is definitely a talent to watch. His act is original, absurdist and above all funny. The Not So Late Show is setting a high benchmark for alternative comedy in Leeds.

A Raisin in the Sun

Sheffield studio

nick ahad 4/5

The times they are a changing, but not quickly enough for actors of colour.

Lorraine Hansberry wrote the story of a black Chicagoan family almost 60 years ago. With her award- winning play, she created characters of depth and complexity, powerful roles for black women, a defining role for a black male actor – and still the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite trends.

When you realise that actors, writers and directors of colour today stand on the shoulders of giants like Hansberry, you have to wonder why inequity continues to blight the performance arts.

When you watch A Raisin in the Sun, you see a great American play in the tradition that spawned Death of a Salesman. Premiered on Broadway a decade after Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, A Raisin in the Sun deals with the same issues – families torn apart by the broken promise of the American dream. Matriarch Lena Younger, a world-weary but unbowed Angela Wynter, is waiting for a cheque for $10,000, money that will change the lives of three generations of the Youngers. Daughter Beneatha, played by Susan Wokoma, will be put through medical school. Grandchild Travis will have a house with a garden and perhaps salvation for Walter Lee will come from the money. Ashley Zhangazha is the feckless Walter Lee, attempting to overcome prejudice and his own demons. Black US comics from Dick Gregory to Chris Rock via Richard Pryor have borrowed themes from Hansberry – how to break free when perceptions of your community hold you in chains. At times the production sags, but that is the weight of a 60-year-old play. What never loses its grip are the themes that resonate – and how urgent that resonance is when viewed through a prism of modernity.

To February 13.