Leeds Playhouse – until 28 March 2026 (and on tour)
Reviewed by Dawn Smallwood
5*****
Andrea Levy’s Small Island comes to life on stage at the Leeds Playhouse produced jointly by them, Birmingham Rep, Nottingham Playhouse and Actors Touring Company, in association. Levy’s novel examines the history and experiences of Britons and Jamaicans, during World War II and post war migration. Adapted by Helen Edmundson, for its first staging in 2019 at the National Theatre in London, and directed by Matthew Xia. The novel centres around four characters; Hortense (Anna Crichlow), Queenie (Bronté Barbé), Gilbert (Daniel Ward) and Bernard (Mark Arends).
Small Island chronologically documents each of the characters journeys on stage and each of them narrates their experiences. Hortense (Crichlow) yearns to live in England with its polite society but is naïve about actual reality and expectations. She joins her husband, Gilbert (Ward), who served in the Royal Air Force during World War II and faces challenges living as a migrant, in London. There is Queenie (Barbé), an English woman, who hosts servicemen from the Caribbean during the Second World War and post war, newly arrived migrants. This estranges the relationship between her and her husband, Bernie (Arends), who has fixated views on race.
Small Island powerfully and boldly projects the challenges each character faces including colonial and war experiences, racial relations, and tensions, naivety, interracial interactions and relationships and placements issues which migrants face. All the characters reflectively bring varying perspectives, humour, and warmth amid ignorance. These are roused from misinformation and poignancy which ultimately a difficult decision is made and agreed at the end because of the societal attitudes and race relations at the time.
Simon Kenny’s spectacular staging works extremely well with the production, particularly the videography and projections, courtesy of Gino Ricardo Green, from past events during the 1930s and 1940s in both Jamaica and Britain. The videography and projections enhance the characters and the narrations they share. Both creatives are supported by Luke Bacchus’ music, Ciarán Cunningham’s lighting, and Adrienne Quartly’s soundscapes.
Character portrayals from each of the cast are of the highest standard and each portray brings the roles and narration to life. The moving audience is fully informed how each of the characters is feeling with their experiences in hand. One must agree with Levy when she wanted to write this story in that it is a shared history between the British and the Caribbean people, and crucially both stories need to be told to aid rounded understanding. This production certainly consciously and successfully fulfils this.
Small Island offers a lot and how the stories resonate today and the importance of being informed from all perspectives to tackle ignorance, misinformation, and prejudices today. This excellent production is the best opportunity to be acquainted with the shared history and how sharing such stories are so crucial today as it was then. An unmissable production!