Small Island
Journey from the sun-drenched shores of Jamaica to the cold, grey streets of 1940s London in Small Island, a powerful and intimate portrayal of Andrea Levy’s multi award-winning novel, adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson. Directed by Matthew Xia, this bold staging offers a fresh perspective on a world shaped by empire and entitlement, caught between belonging and unbelonging, disappointment and hope.
Four unforgettable characters bring this Windrush story to life: Hortense and Gilbert, determined Jamaican migrants in search of belonging and respect; Queenie, an Englishwoman who defies convention; and Bernard, her husband, struggling with change. Together, they discover love across culture, colour and class – and the fragile hope of a shared future.
Spanning decades and continents, this brand-new production draws on the joyful rhythms of calypso and the harsh realities of post-war Britain to explore the emotional truth of our collective history, brought vividly to life through music, striking visuals and a compelling story you will never forget.
Venue
Presented by
Birmingham Rep, Leeds Playhouse and Nottingham Playhouse, in association with Actors Touring Company.
Adapted by
Helen Edmundson
Based on the novel by
Andrea Levy
Directed by
Matthew Xia
Price
Special Offers
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Access Performances
Audio Described: Sat 11 April at 1.30pm (described by Carolyn Smith)
A Free Touch Tour is available to book at 12pm before the Audio Described performances.
BSL Interpreted: Tue 7 Apr at 7pm
Captioned: Thu 9 April at 1.30pm and 7pm (captioned by Cara Lawless)
Chilled: Sat 11 April at 1.30pm
Running Time
Approximately 3 hours and 5 minutes, including an interval.
Age Guidance
14+
Please note, no under 5s will be allowed into the auditorium.
Content Advice
Please note, the story explores the journeys of Jamaican characters in the 1930s – 1940s, migrating to England. It contains sensitive content including racism, colourism, ableism, descriptions of violence (including war), depictions of violence, depictions of PTSD, death, sexual language and sexual scenes.
Cast
Anna Crichlow
Anna most recently appeared as Tess Durbeyfield in Tess (Ockham’s Razor).
Training: The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
Theatre credits include: Caliban/Gonzalo/Iris in The Tempest (AFTLS); Oberon/Hermia/Flute/Cobweb in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (AFTLS); The Innocent in The Fir Tree (Shakespeare’s Globe); Brutus in Julius Caesar (Shakespeare’s Globe); Celia/Adam in As You Like It (Shakespeare’s Globe); Alonso in The Tempest (Shakespeare’s Globe); Hermia/First Fairy/Snug in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe); Tess in The Last Noël (Attic Theatre Company/Arts at the Old Fire Station); Ruby in Confidence (Southwark Playhouse); Enid in The Worst Witch (Royal & Derngate); Common (National Theatre); Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre).
Workshop credits include: Miranda in The Tempest (Shakespeare’s Globe Education).
Screen credits include: Anne Steele in Sense and Sensibility (Hallmark); Dinah in Repair (Short Film); Nina in Strange Days (Short Film); Karen in Memento Amare (Rebel Without Crew Films).
Daniel Ward
Daniel Ward is a versatile actor and writer.
Recent theatre credits include: Cat on A Hot Tin Roof (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester); Rebellion and War Of The Roses (RSC); Nora: A Doll’s House (Citizen’s Theatre); The Amen Corner (National Theatre).
Recent screen credits include: Mood (BBC); This Is Going To Hurt (BBC), A Bird Flew In and Everything Now (Netflix).
Daniel’s debut play, The Canary And The Crow, which he both wrote and starred in, opened to a critically acclaimed run at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe Festival before embarking on a UK tour and winning the 2020 George Devine Award. His theatre writing has gone from strength to strength, with Everything I Own, Ribena and Tactile Nature enjoying critically-acclaimed runs at Hull Truck Theatre, Theatre Royal Stratford East and Theatre Centre respectively.
Daniel led Tambo and Bones, in the role of Bones, at Theatre Royal Stratford East in 2023 and has most recently finished leading the UK tour of the show. He also starred in The Architect as part of the Greenwich and Docklands International Festival. Both projects were directed by Matthew Xia
Bronté Barbé
In 2010, Bronté was selected as one of the final 10 in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Search for Dorothy: Over the Rainbow. Following this, Bronté attended Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts where she gained the Gyearbuor Asante prize for Acting and graduated with first class honours. She created the role of Kathy in Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder which transferred from the Edinburgh Fringe to the West End and stared as Mary Western in The Rep’s production of What’s New Pussycat.
Other theatre credits include: Newsies (Troubador Theatre London), Oklahoma (Chichester Festival Theatre), Beautiful (UK tour), Girlfriends (Bishopsgate Institute), The Wild Party (The Other Palace), Shrek (UK Tour), Little Red Riding Hood (UK Tour) and Carnival of the Animals (Riverside Studios).
Other credits include: Doctor Who , Years & Years and Call the Midwife (BBC), Cool Rider, The Grease 2 Concert (Lyric Theatre, West End) and cast recording, Momentous Musicals (UK Tour), Hairspray (Kuala Lumpur/Singapore).
Workshop credits include: Don’t Forget directed by Melly Still.
Instagram: @brontebarbe
Mark Arends
Mark is the founder and director of Make Mend and Do Theatre Company for whom he has written and directed Something Very Far Away, At The End of Everything Else, The Missing Light and Tiny Echoes.
Theatre credits include: Moby Dick (Royal & Derngate); Nora: A Doll’s House (Young Vic); Fatherland (Lyric Hammersmith/Frantic Assembly); Old Fools (Southwark Playhouse); The Missing Light (Old Vic); Hamlet (Trafalgar Studios); Don’t Sleep There Are Snakes (The Park Theatre); The Angry Brigade (The Bush Theatre); The Two Gentlemen Of Verona (Royal Shakespeare Company); 1984 (Almeida/Headlong); Beauty And The Beast, Cat in The Hat, The U.N. Inspector, A Dream Play (National Theatre); Love’s Comedy, Alison’s House (Orange Tree Theatre); Marianne Dreams (Almeida); Something Very Far Away (Unicorn Theatre); Macbeth, The May Queen, Urban Legend (Liverpool Everyman); The Glass Menagerie, Henry V, What Every Woman Knows (Manchester Royal Exchange); Hallelujah (Theatre503); Vieux Carré (Manchester Library Theatre); Fierce: An Urban Myth (Grid Iron Theatre Company); Tamburlaine The Great (The Rose Theatre).
Television credits include: The Syndicate, Star City, Professor T, Mr Bates vs The Post Office, Brave New World, MotherFatherSon, Anne, New Tricks, Doctors, Skins, The Innocence Project, Silent Witness, The Bill, Casualty, Holby City.
Film credits include: The Lair, Draw On Sweet Night, Pride and Prejudice.
Mara Allen
Mara graduated from The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in 2019.
Theatre credits include: Kenneth Branagh’s King Lear (Wyndham’s, The Shed New York); Playing Shakespeare: Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe); An Octoroon (Abbey Theatre Dublin); The Mirror Crack’d (UK Tour); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Changeling Theatre Company); The Night Watch (UK Tour); Henry V (Maltings Theatre); Jacaranda (Pentabus Tour); Tending (Edinburgh Fringe, Underbelly Cowgate, Brixton House); The White Chip (Southwark Playhouse).
Television/Film credits include: Romantic Getaway (SKY Comedy).
Rosemary Boyle
Rosemary trained at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama and has since been working across theatre and screen.
Theatre credits include: Dancing at Lughnasa (Sheffield Crucible/Royal Exchange Manchester), Peter Pan (The Park Theatre), Of Mice and Men (UK Tour), Hay Fever (Royal Lyceum Theatre/Citizens Theatre), The James Plays (National Theatre/National Theatre Scotland/International Tour).
Television credits include: Doctors (BBC), Father Brown (BBC), Miss Scarlet and the Duke (PBS/ALIBI), Eastenders (BBC).
Short film credits include: Watkins Law, Two Lifetimes, Solidago and Look Away.
Paul Hawkyard
Local Yorkshire actor, Paul, has appeared in many high profile and well-loved TV dramas over his career.
Theatre credits include: The Railway Children, Ghost Stories (ATG), Men Of The World and Abigail’s Party (The Crucible Theatre).
West End credits include: Warhorse, Birdsong, Les Miserables, Mama Mia, Miss Saigon and Jesus Christ Superstar.
TV credits include: Here We Go, All Creatures Great And Small, Emmerdale, Old Jack’s Boat, Doctors, Casualty, Heartbeat, Where The Heart Is, and Holby City.
Zoe Lambert
Originally from West Yorkshire Zoe has been based in the North-East for over 35 years.
Recent theatre credits include: The Railway Children, (York Theatre Royal for Bradford City Of Culture), Suitcases (Hit The Ground Running Dance/Theatre) and Red Riding Hood (Triple Treat Theatre)
Other stage credits include: The Winter’s Tale and The Comedy Of Errors (RSC), Grounded, Hope is a four letter word, Walter, Tiny Fragments Of Beautiful Light (Alphabetti Theatre). Tyne, Cabaret, Tales From The Backyard, Personal Belongings (Newcastle) and Cinderella A Fairytale, The Gamblers, Threepenny Opera (Northern Stage)
She is an Associate Artist with Open Clasp Theatre Co and productions include: Lasagna, Sugar (BBC iPlayer), Rattle and Roll, Swags and Tails and Twist Of Lemon. Talking Heads: Bed Amongst The Lentils, Brassed Off, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty And The Beast (Durham Gala). When We Are Married, The Bells, The Comedy Of Errors, and Sweet William (Northern Broadsides). The Twits, The BFG, and Firebird (Octagon Theatre Bolton).
Television and Film credits include: Coronation Street, Emmerdale, School For Seduction, The Royal, Tracy Beaker Returns, Sugar (BBC iPlayer) The Candidate.
Zoe sings and plays the accordion with band Kissed.
Jordan Laviniere
Theatre credits include: I Wish (Unicorn Theatre, New Victory Theatre, NYC); Kin The Musical (Theatro Tecnis); Wuthering Heights (UK Tour, National Theatre, US Tour); All That (Kings Head Theatre); Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (Apollo Theatre), Hairspray (UK tour), Rent (UK tour); Bugsy Malone (Lyric Theatre, London); The Life (The English Theatre-Frankfurt); We Will Rock You (European Tour); Thriller Live (UK&EU tour); The Lion King (Lyceum Theatre); Whistle Down The Wind (Aldwych).
Marcia Mantack
Marcia trained at Arts Educational Schools and has worked in film, television, radio, commercials, voice over, backing vocals and modelling.Marcia also appeared in ads for Esure, B&Q, Domino Pizza and most recently the new Audible Campaign for Comedy. She has modelled for London Fashion Week and danced for MIKA on tour.
Theatre credits include: Of All The Beautiful Things In The World World Premiere (Home Manchester); Insane Animals (Bourgeois & Maurice); Stepping Out (Vaudeville Theatre); Broken (Ithena Theatre Co); Routes (Life Venture Theatre); From the Mouths of Mothers (Mosac & C.S.S.D); Pumpkin Soup For The Soul (Ithena Production); King Of The Castle (Tell Tara), Singing Shouting Stamping Home (Nuffield Theatre Southampton); The Bacchae (NTS), Cinderella (Wolverhampton Grand Theatre).
Film credits include: Final Year (Gratur Productions);The Weekend; Roots (NFTS); No Kaddish in Camarthen (Warp Films).
Television credits include: After You’ve Gone, Magnificent Seven and Paradise Heights (BBC); and London’s Burning (LWT).
Radio credits include: Fruit Salad and jingles.
Rhys Stephenson
Rhys is an actor and presenter based in Manchester who has been entertaining many on TV with his infectious energy. Most known to younger viewers as being one of the faces on CBBC and by families for his larger than life appearances on Morning Live as well as taking part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2021.
Other television credits include: Girl Troop vs Aliens, a new children’s sci fi comedy out this year, being the voice of Lars in the new Go Jetters Go series coming to CBeebies as well as being a member of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.
Rhys is honoured and excited to take a little step out of the world of TV to make his professional theatre debut as Michael in Small Island.
André Squire
TRAINING: Ian Smith, ITV Workshop, Nottingham; Identity Drama School
THEATRE INCLUDES: (the) Woman (UK tour), One Night in Miami (ABKCO Theater/Nottingham Playhouse), The Grapes of Wrath (Nuffield Theatre), The Refugee Boy (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Lonely Cowboy (West Yorkshire Playhouse), Blue (Arts Theatre, Notts), Measure for Measure (ITV Workshop), Romeo and Juliet (ITV Workshop), Our Style Is Legendary (Nottingham Playhouse)
TELEVISION INCLUDES: Blade Runner 2099 (Amazon Prime), Black Ops season 2 (BBC),Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes (Etta Pictures), 3 Little Birds (Tiger Aspect), FBI International (CBS Studios), Nova Jones (JAM Media), Worzel Gummidge (Leopard Pictures), Gold Digger (BBC), Gormint (Amazon Prime), Jamie Johnson (CBBC), Doctors, West 10 LDN (Kudos), Off the Hook (Greenroom Entertainment/BBC), The Vice (Carlton TV), A Thing Called Love (BBC)
FILM INCLUDES: Greenland: Migration, BYPASS (Third Films), One for the Road (Film Four)
Everal A Walsh
Theatre credits include: Through It All Together (Leeds Playhouse); Animal Farm (Octagon Theatre; Hull Truck Theatre; Derby Theatre - UK Tour); Revealed (Belgrade Theatre; Tobacco Factory); A Child of Science (Bristol Old Vic); Everything I Own (Brixton House); Rockets and Blue Lights (National Theatre, Royal Exchange Manchester); The Honey Man (Northcott Theatre Exeter); Amadeus, The Amen Corner and The Comedy of Errors (National Theatre); Strawgirl, Antony and Cleopatra and Basil and Beattie (Royal Exchange Manchester); Travels With My Aunt (The New Wolsey Theatre)
Television credits include: The Ballad of Renegade Nell, Odd Squad, The Crown S6, Orpheus in the Record Shop, Doctor Who, Cold Call, Doctors, In the Dark, Coronation Street, The Accused
Recent Radio credits include: The New Sugar, Dream Reality Radio Live
Toby Webster
Theatre credits include: The Score (Theatre Royal Bath/Theatre Royal Haymarket); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Stafford Gatehouse); Whistle Down the Wind (Watermill); The Provoked Wife, Venice Preserved and Bottoms Up (RSC); Shakespeare in Love (Theatre Royal Bath/Eleanor Lloyd); Oedipus (Matchstick Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Pride and Prejudice (Illyria); Macbeth (Infinite Jest); Oppenheimer (RSC West End Transfer); Walking the Chains(Show of Strength); London Road (Bristol Old Vic); Romeo and Juliet (New Mutiny Theatre Company).
Film credits include: Life Isn’t My Friend (But We Get On); The Attic; London Road; The Audience
Television credits include: Doctors (BBC); Breaking the Band: Alice Cooper (ITV)
Phil Yarrow
Theatre credits include: The 39 Steps (Wiltshire Creative), Peter Pan Goes Wrong (West End & UK Tour), Crackers (Off West End Finalist, Polka), Room on the Broom (Original Cast & West End, Tall Stories), Jeeves & Wooster In Perfect Nonsense (Frinton Sumer Theatre), Bouncers and Round & Round The Garden (Worcester Theatres), Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery (Mercury Theatre).
TV & Film credits include: The Split (BBC), Emmerdale (ITV), The Dumping Ground (CBBC).