Small Island, National Theatre - ★★★★★ - Until August 10, 2019


This is really a tale of two small islands, bound together as uneasily as the married couples in Andrea Levy's epic story. Britain and Jamaica are linked by history and often divided by race and culture. Like the characters in this brilliant adaptation of the novel they are faced with the reality of making the relationship work. This is a play that takes us into the history of Jamaican immigration to England, but it keeps the focus on telling an interesting tale arising from a group of unique characters. Helen Edmundson has done a masterful job of adapting a narrative of almost Dickensian complexity to the limits of time and space imposed by the stage, and Katrina Lindsay's set design meets the always high standard of National Theatre productions. The stand out performances of Aisling Loftus as Queenie and Leah Harvey as Hortense beautifully capture two different versions of the kind of strength that is needed to survive in the charged and challenging world beyond the small island of the past. Insularity must yield to the recognition of interdependency as they come to share the birth and rearing of a new generation. Another hit by the National Theatre.

Reviewed by J.C.

 Our Score:  ☆☆☆☆☆ 

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WHEN, WHERE, GETTING THERE:
Until August 10, 2019:
Mon 7:30 pm ~ May 20, 27. Jun 10, 17. July 22, 29. Aug 5. 
Tue 7:30 pm ~ May 14, 21, 28. Jun 11. Jul 23, 30. Aug 6.
Wed 7:30 pm ~ May 15, 22, 29. Jun 12. Jul 24, 31. Aug 7.
Wed 2:00 pm ~ May 15.
Wed 1:30 pm ~ May 29. Jun 12. Jul 24, 31.
Thu 7:30 pm ~ May 2,16, 23, 30. Jun 13. Jul 18, 25. Aug 1, 8.
Fri 7:30 pm ~ May 3, 17, 24, 31. Jun 14. Jul 19, 26. Aug 2, 9.
Sat 7:30 pm ~ May 4,18, 25. Jun 15. Jul 20, 27. Aug 3, 10.
Sat 2:00 pm ~ May 4,18, 25. Jun 15. Jul 20, 27. Aug 3, 10.
Live Theatre Broadcast ~ Jun 27.

 National Theatre, Olivier Theatre
Nearest tube: Waterloo
https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/small-island
Map & Location: Upper Ground, South Bank, London SE1 9PX, UK

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