Okay, so, apparently I have entered some rift in space and time and have lost a couple days.  So, this review is overdue, and, not yet done.  But I don’t want you to miss out, because Soulpepper’s Raisin in the Sun is a great show.  Leading to the quick teaser:

When you walk into the theatre you’re greeted by a gritty realistic set.  Which, pretty much sums up the whole show.  There is humour, there is sadness, there is despair, there is hope.  There are great actors, great directing, great tech and cool choices (I loved watching the neighbours on the sides while the scene change was happening).

As you can tell, the show runs the gambit.  Although the show still has relevance in this day and age, it’s interesting to try and imagine watching it as though you were watching it on Broadway in the 50’s – a time when a woman going to med school (especially a black woman?) would likely make many scoff.  Of course you can never truly do this, and you watch the show knowing that ‘in the future’ there are tons of women who have become doctors.  Honestly (and embarrassingly) I don’t know enough about that time, in Canada or the States (or, you know, anywhere) to be able to try and really look at it from that perspective. 

What I can say is it feels a lot like a ‘slice of life’, a picture of history.  It’s hyper-realistic and tells a compelling and believable story.  All in all, it’s a great production of a great play.

For more information check out the website.  I’ll give more details in the ‘real’ review.  One thing to note though, curtain is at 7:30, not 8.  They stagger curtain times at the Young Centre if there is more than one show going on at a time, it makes intermission far less crowded.