Raspberry (Tour – Manchester)

This Fittings Multimedia Arts, Sounds of Progress and Tron Theatre production of Raspberry is reckless, soulful and gloriously musical.

Enter Rita (Christine Bruno), delightfully dressed in a tatty tutu, bright pink leggings and with a mop of curly hair who also wears callipers and is strapped to a porters trolley. Referred to by her father (Jam Dobbs) as Raspberry, Rita is desperate not to be defined by her disability however it is all her father can see; a classic case of the seeing the disability before seeing the person.

Welcome Spastics Autisticus (Garry Robson) who is very much based on Ian Dury and with his band members Albert Einstein (David Stickman Higgins), Ray (Sally Clay) and the musician (Jamie Duffin); help Raspberry see that the way her father treats her is repressive and prevents her from being herself. Her father feels immense guilt for her disability however he spends all his time trying to correct her with his skills as a blacksmith; trying to straighten her legs rather than accept her disability and enjoy her personality.  

The story line is quite weak and disappointingly tales off into something rather average. The problem is that it never really reaches a climiax or takes the audience anywhere unexpected, and at times the dialogue lets the production down. The real skill of this piece are the songs.  

Thought-provoking and brilliantly performed with real acidity and bite, the punk influenced soundtrack is incredibly catchty and harks back to an era where punks wanted to be accepted as individuals. Clay in particular provides a strong vocal and is superbly cast as a white female Ray Charles. Robson also captures some of the spirit of Ian Dury well and delivers some of the strongest lines in the performance, drawing several laughs from the audience.

The set designed by Keith McIntyre is a hommage to monochrome and works well in the Contact’s smaller studio space and works well as backdrop for this piece.

All in all there are some very strong elements to this production, notably the soundtrack and the strength of acting particularly from Robson. However a weak story and a limp conclusion leave some parts feeling lacklustre and but the music and the songs lift the show out of obscurity and are the key to the success of this piece as a whole.

– Ruth Lovett