If you happen to be within easy reach of Norwich, UK, this will be worth seeing. The Oscar-winning film Rain Man – which paired Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise as estranged brothers – has been adapted for the theatre.
Rain Man initiated an incorrect media stereotype that people on the autism spectrum typically have savant skills, and references to the movie have become shorthand for autism and savantism.
Neil Morrissey will play the part of autistic savant Raymond Babbitt, a man with an extraordinary talent for numbers who is incapable of emotional connection. This is a hugely challenging role for an actor, and Neil Morrissey has been praised by critics for his sensitive portrayal of autism.
“First of all I did a lot of medical research. The autism spectrum is so massive I had to narrow it down to just working on autistic savantism. And that’s quite broad. I started off and worked my way through with how it works with the brain and how it affects different people,” he explained in the Norwich Evening News on Friday.
The character of Raymond was originally inspired by real-life savant Kim Peek, who screenwriter Barry Morrow met in 1986. When Morrow won the Oscar for best screenplay in 1989 – one of four that the film took home – he reportedly gave his gold statuette to Peek.
The stage version of the story – adapted by Dan Gordon and set in the present day - is at UK’s Norwich Theatre Royal from Monday.
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