Small Island
By Andrea Levy
Year staged: 2019
Opening night: 17/04/2019
Theatre Company: National Theatre; 1963-
Staged in: Olivier Theatre, National Theatre
Cast Size: 24
Synopsis
Small Island embarks on a journey from Jamaica to Britain, through the Second World War to 1948 – the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury. The play follows three intricately connected stories: Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Hope and humanity meet stubborn reality as the play traces the tangled history between Jamaica and the UK.
This play is suitable for Key Stages 3, 4 and 5. Users can watch a recording of the play via the National Theatre Collection to stream in schools or by booking a time at the National Theatre Archive (located in Waterloo, next to the Old Vic Theatre).
Download a Learning Guide for Small Island (via National Theatre Collection).
Original Cast
Leah Harvey
Hortense
Sandra James-Young
Miss Jewel
Thea Day
Supernumary
Tricia Wey
Supernumary
Trevor Laird
GI / Kenneth / Mr Phillip
Jacqueline Boatswain
Miss Ma
Mary Tillet
Supernumary
CJ Beckford
Michael
David Fielder
Arthur
Alice Langrish
Supernumary
Andrew Rothney
Bernard
Aisling Loftus
Queenie
Beatie Edney
Aunt Dorothy / Miss Todd / Mrs Buxton / Woman with Baby
Stephanie Jacob
Woman in Cinema
John Hastings
Foreman / GI / Recruiting Officer / Understudy: Bernard
Cavan Clarke
GI / Railway Worker
Phoebe Frances-Brown
Franny
Gershwyn Eustace Jnr
Gilbert
Shiloh Coke
Celia / Understudy: Miss Jewel / Understudy: Woman
Natey Jones
GI / Policeman / Understudy: Gilbert
CJ Johnson
Usherette
Paul Bentall
Military Policeman / Railway Worker / Recruiting Officer / Soames / Understudy: Arthur
Chereen Buckley
Woman in Hurricane / Understudy: Hortense / Understudy: Miss Ma
Amy Forrest
Mrs Ryder
Production Team
Rufus Norris
Director
Andrea Levy
Writer
Helen Edmundson
Adaptor
Paul Anderson
Lighting Designer
Jon Driscoll
Projection Designer
Kate Waters
Fight Director
Shane Thom
Stage Manager
Ian Dickinson
Sound Designer
Emma Pile
Project Draughting
Rachel Dickson
Costume Supervisor
Francesca Reidy
Assistant Stage Manager
Daniel Bennett-Radley
Digital Art
Ashley Holtom
Assistant Costume Supervisor
Rebecca Johnston
Prop Supervisor
Ben Donoghue
Deputy Stage Manager
Brinkhoff/Mögenburg
Production Photographer
Alex Caplan
Production Sound Engineer
Renata Hill
Wigs, Hair and Make-Up Supervisor
Sian Willis
Prop Buyer
Jo Phipps
Assistant Stage Manager
Nadene Wheatley
Lighting Programmer
Jeannette Nelson
Company Voice Work
Ian Cooper
Scenic Art Supervisor
Constance Oak
Assistant Stage Manager
Tariq Rifaat
Production Manager
Fran Miller
Project Producer
Riche Tarr
Rigging Supervisor
Coral Messam
Movement Director
Hazel Holder
Dialect Coach
Duncan Weir
Automation
Jack Williams
Lighting Supervisor
Matt / Matthew Morgans
Video Supervisor
Laura Cubitt
Puppetry
Barrie Nield
Construction Supervisor
Curtis Chadwick
Sound Operator
Mica Taylor
Assistant Stage Manager
Barry Peavot
Stage Supervisor
Jess Walsh
Prop Making Consultant
Isabella Odoffin
Casting
Gary Crosby
Music Consultant
Mollie Tuttle
Production Video Engineer
Gemma Harrison
Video Operator
Verity Naughton
Casting (Children)
Michael Ager
Deputy Production Manager
James Lye
Lighting Operator
Katrina Lindsay
Set and Costume Designer
Gino Ricardo Green
Associate Projection Designer
Marc Tritschler
Music Supervisor
Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey
Associate Set and Costume Designer
Anna Himali Howard
Staff Director
Shiloh Coke
Associate Music Director
Benjamin Kwasi Burrell
Composer and Rehearsal Music Director
Gemma Carrington
Animator
Paul Anderson
Lighting Designer
Additional Materials
Show Reports
Ref: RNT/SM/2/4/254
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Posters
Ref: RNT/PP/2/3/416
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Posters
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Press Releases
Ref: RNT/PR/2/5/938
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Press Releases
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Press Releases
Ref: RNT/PR/2/5/931
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Press Coverage
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Press Reviews
Ref: RNT/PR/4/1/1199
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Show Talk
Ref: RNT/E/6/3/86
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Video Recording
Ref: RNT/D/1/1/79
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Talk Recording
Ref: RNT/E/6/3/82
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Talk Recording
Ref: RNT/E/6/3/80
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Talk Recording
Ref: RNT/E/6/3/79
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Talk Recording
Ref: RNT/E/6/3/78
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Costume Photographs
Ref: RNT/CO/2/50
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Costume Descriptions
Ref: RNT/CO/5/77
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Posters
Ref: RNT/PP/2/3/379
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Background Pack
Ref: RNT/E/3/3/207
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Costume Designs
Ref: RNT/CO/6/23
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Production Photographs
Ref: RNT/PR/3/1017
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Rehearsal Photographs
Ref: RNT/PP/5/583
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Costume File
Ref: RNT/CO/1/797a
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Costume File
Ref: RNT/CO/1/797b
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Cast List
Ref: RNT/PP/3/9/2/136
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Programme
Ref: RNT/PP/1/3/353
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Set Photographs
Ref: RNT/PO/5/344
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