Theatre Review: Raspberry
Article published: Tuesday, May 4th 2010
Critically acclaimed writer Garry Robson’s latest work is a musical play which tells the story of a young woman, the eponymous ‘Raspberry’ (real name Rita) and her struggles to ‘fit in’ in a world which just does not seem to be shaped for people like her.
Her father is obsessed with trying to help her fit society’s mould by attempting to ‘fix’ her. However, Raspberry soon meets Spasticus Autisticus, a character based on singer-songwriter Ian Dury and named after one of his songs. Through his band, including a ‘white blind female Ray Charles’ and ‘a black Albert Einstein with learning difficulties’, she learns to accept herself for the person she is. She reclaims her identity by rejecting her father’s ableist nickname.
The show was extremely enjoyable with excellent musical performances, especially from Sally Clay as the Ray Charles character whose voice was rich and poignant. Garry Robson also did well bringing the Ian Dury character to life.
Though Dury is never directly mentioned his spirit runs through the show and his music forms a perfect narrative backdrop to the story. The script, at times, is a little trite and simplistic, but it was suitable for a wide audience and its message – challenging preconceptions of disability and the common habit of treating individuals through their disability first and as people second – was well communicated.
The overall atmosphere of the play was genuinely uplifting and an all too rare happy ending left the audience on a palpable high. At a time when far too many plays or films featuring a disabled character end with a miracle cure it was a delight that the happy ending here was free of this irritating trope.
I was lucky enough to attend an audio-described performance of this show, which really did enhance my experience considerably. The audio description was well handled and I must applaud the Contact’s ongoing commitment to accessibility and hope that other theatres follow their lead.
Racheal Neimen
Raspberry was at Contact Theatre 23rd / 24th April
More: Manchester
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