I watched the recording of the 2019 production via The National Theatre here - you can too until June 25.
First things first; Leah Harvey is an absolutely charming performer. Without question, her liveliness and tenacity propel this story, and demand our attention. This is a truly outstanding feat, considering the size of the production (40 actors!! The Olivier!!!) and a stunning visual design, accompanied by strong ensemble performances. Somehow Harvey manages to sparkle through it all, the glint in her eye or the pain she is feeling superseding every ounce of the highly impressive stagecraft going on around her.
On the whole, the movement of this production - the people, objects, everything - was fluid and captivating. Rooms merging in and out of one another, spaces transforming before our eyes.
The play tells one story of the Windrush generation, Black Jamaicans who moved to the UK in the post-war period, sold the story of a better life, better opportunities — and met with racism and prejudice that persists in today. The story itself, adapted from Andrea Levy’s epic novel, is compelling, insightful, and heartbreaking. It is rare that an adaptation fulfils, and yet makes me hungry to read the original — I immediately put the book on my “to read” list.
The magnitude of this story, the scope and breadth of it, were beautifully apparent throughout the production. While Small Island focuses on 4 key individuals and their journeys, the overall feeling - with a largely empty stage filled with mapped projections, bodies, shadows, reminds us that this is just one storyline of hundreds.
Try to catch this one if you can.