THE CLASSIC 1988 movie which starred Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman has been adapted and updated for the stage by Dan Gordon, who was also responsible for adapting Terms of Endearment and Murder In The First.

The story tells of Charlie Babbitt, a selfish and egotistical car dealer whose business is on the brink of going bust. When he learns that his father has died, Charlie (Oliver Chris) assumes that the inheritance will solve his financial crises – until he learns that the $12 million fortune has been bequeathed to an unknown beneficiary.

The mystery recipient turns out to be Raymond (Neil Morrissey), an autistic older brother that Charlie never knew he had.

What follows is a tale of anger, denial, betrayal and then, thankfully redemption.

The role of Raymond is of course the eye-grabber in this story. Morrissey has to achieve a perfect balance between conveying the reality of the autistic condition yet not be seen to overplay and tug too hard at the heartstrings. And he manages it, attracting powerful reviews for his role as the obsessive savant, the man who can go to Vegas and memorise the sequence of an entire deck of cards, mastering each nuance and mannerism to perfection.

The story works at several levels; as well as offering insight into the incredible mind capacity of the autistic savant, the memory skills, the numerical gifts, there is also the delight in two brothers who have nothing in common outside their bloodline, realising that there is a connection.

And the connection is that while they are both damaged, they have the ability to help each other. Thankfully, the time they spend together binds them in an almost inexplicable way, which turns out to be life-changing.

The theatre version is darker than the film; it’s both bleakly comic and emotionally devastating, and somehow manages to jettison the idea of a generous, loving America. And it doesn’t suffer from this perspective at all.

Charles Lawson, Ruth Everett, Patrick Brennan and Emma Gregory all co-star.