Oxford Playhouse today welcomed pioneering theatre company Headlong ahead of the opening night of their newest production, A Raisin in the Sun.

After opening at Leeds Playhouse a fortnight ago, Lorraine Hansberry's seminal work will now be staged in the heart of Oxford until Saturday. This production, directed by Tinuke Craig (Trouble in Butetown, Jitney, The Color Purple, marks the beginning of a new creative partnership with Headlong Theatre as they relocate back to the city where they were founded 50 years ago as the Oxford Stage Company.

Joined by the cast and creatives of the A Raisin in the Sun, the team at Oxford Playhouse welcomed Headlong to their theatre as they prepare to bring their work to audiences in the city this week. Becoming the 'home ground' for the theatre company, this will be the first of many exciting Headlong productions to play at The Playhouse.

Katy Snelling, Director of Programming and Creative Partnerships at Oxford Playhouse said:

“As Headlong connect to their roots in the city, we are so pleased to forge this new relationship with them. The new partnership provides exciting opportunities to collaborate on some ambitious community engagement and talent development programmes - generating valuable new opportunities for Oxfordshire residents. A warm welcome back to Oxford, Headlong!”

Lisa Maguire, Executive Director of Headlong said:

“This is truly an exciting moment in the ever evolving and future facing mission of Headlong. Our new base in Oxford presents us with the opportunity to partner with our old friends at Oxford Playhouse. We hope to develop our audiences in the city so that performances in Oxford feel like playing in front of a home crowd ahead of touring across the nation, and beyond.”

The rarely performed American classic, A Raisin in the Sun broke barriers as the first play by a Black woman on Broadway, for which Hansberry received the Drama Critics’ Circle Award.

First performed in 1959, this revolutionary family drama follows the Youngers, an intergenerational Black family living in the South Side of Chicago in a small, rented apartment on Chicago’s South Side. Their beloved father has died, and the money from his life insurance policy could change their lives.

Mama wants to put down roots in a home of her own. Her daughter Beneatha has her heart set on becoming a doctor. But her son Walter Lee thinks the money is his to spend — and he’s willing to sacrifice his values and his family to get what he wants. Each must face what it means to escape the confines of a segregated society. How do you create a meaningful life in a world designed to keep you down?

Offering a unique historical perspective on the civil rights movement, this celebrated and timeless drama remains an integral work in the American canon. Rooted in realism, Hansberry’s play, full of humour and heart, remains relevant and powerful in a world still divided by inequality.

The talented ensemble of A Raisin in the Sun is headed by Sex Education’s Doreene Blackstock as matriarch Lena. She is joined by Cash Holland, who plays Ruth. Holland returns to The Playhouse after starring in the Shakespeare’s Globe touring production of Julius Caesar, which played to audiences in a special open-air theatre constructed within the grounds of Magdalen College School.

The cast also includes Joséphine-Fransilja Brookman as Beneatha, Solomon Israel as Walter Lee, Jonah Russell as Karl, Gilbert Kyem Jnr as George, and Kenneth Omole as Joseph/Bobo. Three Leeds-based children, Jayden Dias, Josh Ndlovu and Adiel Magaji, perform the role of Travis.

The full creative team are Tinuke Craig (Director), Cécile Trémolières (Set Designer) Maybelle Laye (Costume Designer), Dominique Hamilton (Wigs, Hair & Make up Designer) Max Pappenheim (Composer & Sound Designer), Joshua Pharo (Lighting Designer), Sarita Piotrowski (Movement Director), Haruka Kuroda (Fight & Intimacy Director), Aundrea Fudge (Voice & Dialect Coach), Phillipe Cato (Associate Director), Ruta Irbite (Design Associate), Luke Haywood (Lighting Associate), Lotte Hines (Casting Director) and Joi Gresham (Literary Trustee).

In this anniversary year, Headlong have also unveiled several other associate partnerships, including one with the University of Oxford's new venue, The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities which will open next year.

Headlong's A Raisin in the Sunis co-produced by Leeds Playhouse, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and Nottingham Playhouse and will play in Oxford until Saturday.