Rain Man - Northern Stage - Review

Rain Man
Northern Stage
8th April 2019



Charlie Babbitt is not a nice man. He is a selfish, self-absorbed cynical shyster, out to make a fast buck and willing to use anyone and everyone to do it. He is on the wrong side of one too many deals gone wrong - customers are demanding their money back, loans are being called in. Charlie Babbitt needs a shitload of money, and he needs it fast.

Raymond is an autistic savant, unable to process emotion, institutionalised in a hospital for his entire life, he navigates his way through the world via regimented routine. He is Charlie Babbitt's brother, and he has just inherited their father's entire fortune. 

Bill Kenwright's play is a faithful adaptation of the original Hollywood movie, though the movie was  essentially a road trip and that is a pretty difficult thing to reproduce on stage. So what Kenwright gives us is a series of stopping off points on the journey -  hotel room, airport lounge, diner, motel room, Vegas Casino... each one a step along the journey of self awareness for Charlie Babbitt. What starts out as a callous, calculated, money grabbing plot becomes a battle to maintain a connection with something that has been sorely missing from Charlie's life, and finally a touching realisation that that what he wants is not the best thing for his brother. 

This is a play firmly rooted in it's 1980s origin. Big suits, shoulder pads, a brick of a mobile phone, and a playlist (if you are my age) that will have you reliving your college years...

The set is simple - an eclectic mix of picture frames, mostly empty, but some with neon signs that light up at the appropriate moment. It has the feel of an 80s pop video set and the sharp scene changes carried out almost in time to the blast of 80s pop and rock add to this feel.  

The performances by the two leading actors are astonishingly convincing - Chris Fountain begins the play as a petulant manipulator - switching between insincere charm and ferocious anger to get his own way. He is as unable to make an emotional connection as Raymond, simply in a different way. The pivotal moment in the play when Charlie realises that he has known and forgotten that he had a brother, when he makes the connection to Raymond, the Rain Man is incredibly touching and Chris Fountain achieves it with a change of expression, the tiniest alteration in his posture - small actions that have a huge impact and from that point his relationship with his brother changes. 

Adam Lilley maintains the character of Raymond throughout - the closed off expression, the impossibility of making eye contact, the ticks and twitches all conveying his discomfort with any and every situation. In Adam Lilley's performance we do not see an actor on stage playing the part, we see Raymond and we feel every moment of his experience, from the confusion, the panic, and finally the tiniest show of affection. 

Both actors are utterly convincing and their performances have the audience enthralled, along with supporting actress, Elizabeth Carter, whose character Susan is essentially Charlie's conscience. 

Funny, uncomfortable, poignant, brilliant. I loved every minute of this play. 

Rain Man plays until 13th April. 

*Photo Credit: Lloyd Evans

Denise Sparrowhawk