The Windrush Generation
Emily Cabreja
Truly I have never seen a large-scale theater performance, so I don’t have any frame of reference to compare Small Island to, but I can say that I have never been so engaged and concentrated for three hours straight. The performance opens with a hurricane– everything is loud, angry, flashing, but through the chaos shines Hortense (Leonie Elliott) introducing the audience to her small island, Jamaica, in 1940. From the beginning to the end, the play is confident in every topic that it addresses from racism in England to colorism in Jamaica to the effects of war on the home front. Every character and prop have their role and they tell it wholeheartedly.
Small Island is adapted from Andrea Levy’s novel with the same title and focuses on the multi-layered experiences of Caribbean people during World War II along with their immigration to post-WWII England. By following the journeys and perspective of the three protagonists: Hortense, Gilbert (Leemore Marrett Jr.), and Queenie (Mirren Mack), the voices of those that have historically been muffled take a step forward and shine.
Personally, I found myself in the unique position of experiencing Small Island as both a reader and an audience member. When I reflected on my time watching the play, I realized that I was able to fully enjoy the storyline of Small Island, specifically because of the set design and props. I recall reading the first act and thinking to myself: How are they going to do this?
You see, the first scene opens with a hurricane, set in tropical Jamaica but also shifts to the countryside of England, furthermore there are several times skips which can easily become confusing. Although I am sure that reading the play ahead of time helped predict and understand these changes, when looking at those around me the transitions were easy to follow. I believe the reason the changes in time and setting were easy to understand was because of the effects used throughout Small Island. Tables were used to represent trees and then a kitchen table for dinner, a chalkboard and chairs were used for a chicken house and spinning floors and closed doors were used during setting changes. It was impressive how everything came together, and no one fumbled or hesitated when there was a transition.
Audience members followed the story intently, enjoying the musical numbers that were included in between scenes, laughing at the appropriate time and gasping in other moments. However, as they nodded along at some parts, I found myself struggling to enjoy one aspect of the play and that was Miss Jewel’s (Sandra James-Young) character, Hortense’s guardian. The actress played her perfectly, however, it was easy to tell that Miss Jewel’s was meant to be comedic relief for those in the audience. Unlike the other characters within the play, there was very little depth in her, which given that the play had added some parts and gone off book in some sections I would have been interested in what she could have developed into.
All in all, for the first play I attended formally, it was one that I will remember for a lifetime. I highly recommend those that are interested in watching a play that is based on the past and focuses on the intersectionality between race, gender, and socioeconomic status during a time of war and immigration.
