A RAISIN IN THe SUN

Adapted by Lorraine Hansberry from her own Broadway play – and retaining its original cast – this absorbing melodrama movingly highlights the hardships of a black Chicago family and their conflicting dreams. Staid direction means it never quite escapes its theatrical origins, but it’s impeccably acted, with a live-wire Sidney Poitier matched by Claudia McNeil’s dignified matriarch. Extras examine Poitier’s desire to beef up his part and the play’s enduring influence on black theatre. Chris Schilling