Singin’ in the Rain is among the most influential and popular films ever made. It’s one of the most aired films in the UK at Christmas time and continues to be adapted, copied and staged more than 70 years after its release.
If you haven’t seen it, and frankly where have you been? It’s a classic musical with moments and songs you will definitely know.
The title song Singin’ in the Rain has been covered countless times and the Gene Kelly dance sequence that goes along with it, think lamppost, umbrella, lots of rain, is genuinely iconic.
Meet theatre director Raz Shaw
Raz Shaw has been a theatre director for 20 years and is currently directing a new stage adaptation of Singin’ in the Rain at the Royal Exchange theatre in Manchester.
BBC Bitesize chats with Raz to get an understanding of why this film continues to have such cultural heft.
Barbie and the ballet in a ballet
Did you know Singin’ in the Rain influenced Barbie? Well actually Ken. The ‘I’m Just Ken’ ballet sequence, is inspired by the Broadway ballet scene in Singin’ in the Rain.
Barbie director Greta Gerwig said “There’s so many great things in Singin’ in the Rain, but there’s the dream ballet inside of the dream ballet … one of the most incredible, beautiful, completely unhinged things”.
She said she used this scene to model the Ken ballet. In both films the male lead moves from one mad dance into another, learning things about himself on the way.
Raz describes the whole 11 minute scene as “kind of crazy” but says the modern referencing by films like Barbie keeps Singin’ in the Rain fresh and relevant and really brings audiences together.
“To find joy and relevance and expression in something that was 70 odd years ago… that’s rare,” he said.
The La La Land effect
Another modern film that pays homage to the ballet scene in Singin’ in the Rain is La La Land. The film’s director Damien Chazelle has said that he "wouldn't have been able to sleep at night” if he hadn’t “put in a dream ballet” in La La lands Epilogue.
The way Emma Stone and Ryan Goslings’ characters, Mia and Sebastian, meet in the film has a similar offish nature to when the leads in Singin’ in the Rain - Kathy (Debbie Reynolds) and Don (Gene Kelly) meet for the first time.
Kathy is outraged when Don jumps into her car to escape his fans, similarly, Mia feels offended when Sebastian completely ignores her attempt to compliment his piano playing.
Before filming La La Land, Ryan Gosling met Patricia Ward Kelly, Gene Kelly’s widow. Ryan got to see “the leather-bound script of Singin' in the Rain,” and “watched Singin' in the Rain every day for inspiration”.
For Raz - it’s this quirky narrative that makes the original film so interesting to audiences today. “It’s a very weird musical because it’s quite modern and subversive… and theatrical in its own right”
A strong female lead
Raz believes the character Kathy is “the strongest person in the show … she’s driving the show and she’s all over Don, if he steps out of line”.
It’s this, Raz told us, that makes Singin’ in the Rain more subversive and appealing to modern audiences than we realise.
From the moment we meet Kathy, she’s unapologetically outraged at Don for jumping into her car non-consensually.
Singin’ in the Rain is “glorifying, back then, a modern, strong woman who takes no crap”, and Raz intends to do “women of today and of that era justice,” in his adaptation of the film.
Triumph over adversity
Singin’ in the Rain is also “an exploration of joy in the face of adversity,” according to Raz.
The film presents established actors with their careers on the line. It explores the fragility of the industry they’re in, as films change entirely to sound.
During this turning point in 1920s Hollywood, Cosmo (Donald O’Connor) still attempts to make ‘em laugh, Don and Kathy still find joy and playfulness in their blooming romance. We’re reminded constantly in the film that in a world full of challenges, we all need to dance, sing and most importantly laugh!
Putting all that on stage - it’s extra!
“It's almost movie and stage in one beautiful, sort of weird amalgamation. That's what we're aiming for…it's like Singin’ in the Rain - Extra.”
Singin’ in the Rain was first performed on stage in 1983, and played for several years at the London Palladium Theatre in the UK. However, Singin’ in the Rain has never been performed in-the-round in England…until now!
The Royal Exchange Theatre is known for its in-the-round main stage, where the audience sit on all sides and where Raz Shaws’ Singin’ in the Rain will make its debut.
Compared to the audience experiencing the play from one perspective in traditional theatres, Raz Shaw told us how working in-the-round feels like “you’re in the movie,” due to the intimacy of this staging where “everyone literally has a different viewpoint” and is in the heart of the action.
Raz doesn’t see his production as an opportunity to recreate the movie onstage, but to create “a little glimpse of something iconic that they might recognise from the film but then making it completely fresh”.
Therefore, fan-favourite moments such as Good Morning and Singin’ in the Rain will be experienced differently at the Royal Exchange; “The front rows may or may not be giving raincoats … but that’s all part of the fun, right?”
You can check out the show in Manchester at the Royal Exchange Theatre from the 29th November 2025 to 25th January 2026.
Published in November 2025
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