Small Island At Nottingham Playhouse Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Louise Edwards

Small Island, based on the Orange prize winning book by Andrea Levy is currently showing at the Nottingham Playhouse until 16 May. A joint collaboration between Leeds Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Nottingham Playhouse this astounding production adapted by Helen Edmundson and directed by Olivier Award winning Matthew Xia, is a journey you really don’t want to miss.

A multigenerational saga, the drama starts on island of Jamaica where we meet Hortense, played with rigid dignity by Anna Crichlow, working at the local primary school and in love with Michael, played by Rhys Stephenson (Strictly Come Dancing 2021) who she has been brought up with as her cousin. Michael is a free spirit who is soon enticed to the motherland, England, where he joins the RAF. He sows the seeds in, quietly ambitious, Hortense that there is life outside of Jamaica and she dreams of teaching in the “Mother Country”. She meets Gilbert, played Daniel Ward, by who signs up for the British Army enticed by the promises they never deliver.

Meanwhile we meet Queenie played by Bronte Barbe, a charming white Yorkshire woman, who settles in London in a loveless marriage with Bernard, played by Mark Arends. He lives in a sprawling house in Earls Court with his father, Arthur (played by Paul Hawkyard,, who is a gentle character suffering with acute PTSD from WW1. Backed up by other actors playing multiple characters including Mara Allen as Miss Ma, Rosemary Boyle as Mrs Ryder, Zoe Lambert as Aunt Dorothy, Nottingham born Andrew Squire as Elwood and Phil Yarrow as Mr Buxton, Toby Webster as Kip, Everal A Walsh as Kenneth and Marcia Mantack as Miss Jewel.The play weaves together the lives of the four central characters whose destinies collide in a dreary post-war London.

Visually the astounding narrative moves fluidly between the lush, sun-drenched landscapes of Jamaica, where the lighting transforms to the sun-drenched oranges and reds juxtaposed with the gravy, bombed-out streets of 1948 London. Gino Ricardo Green, video designer provides the social context of what is happening projected onto a screen, whilst the characters are navigating their lives and what is thrown at them. This is effective and also gives a cinematic feel jumping through time without losing pace. With the use of a revolving stage we get a glimpse into the very different experiences of the characters as designer, Simon Kenny, weaves his magic to make a space that is simple but visually extravagant.

The performances are uniformly excellent, grounded in a delicate balance of wit and heartbreak where you feel emotionally switching like a rollercoaster between humour, shock and despair at the cruelty. The story is both intimate and epic with all the characters likeable and realistic. Small Island holds up a mirror to contemporary society and the unconscious bias that was apparent and maybe still is.

Running time is 3 hours and 15 minutes including interval which may feel too long but it really flies by and everyone if fully engaged and invested in what is happening, so it never feels laborious.

Rating: 4.5/5

Tickets from £14.50

For more information or to book tickets please visit here.