Groundbreaking at the time, the 1959 Broadway play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry showcased to a wider public the struggles of a poor African-American family in the United States. Prominent high profile productions took place in 2016 in Sweden, directed by Josette Bushell-Mingo, OBE, and at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, directed by James Ngcobo, the first major production of the play in these countries.
Dreams Deferred coincided with Arena Stage Mead Center for the American Theatre’s (Washington, DC) production of the play, and explored the resonance of this classic play in three different cultural contexts – South Africa, Sweden, and the United States – as well as the larger cross-current themes of racial equality and justice, the legacies of author Lorraine Hansberry, the Civil Rights Movement and Apartheid.
