Matthew Xia praises ‘talented, courageous and empathetic’ group of artists joining him on his deeply personal creative journey

 

Meet the exciting cast and creative team joining director Matthew Xia on an unforgettable journey from the sun-drenched shores of Jamaica to the cold, grey streets of 1940s London in Small Island, a powerful new portrayal of Andrea Levy’s multi award-winning novel, adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson.

A Nottingham Playhouse, Leeds Playhouse and Birmingham Rep production, in association with Actors Touring Company, this exhilarating new co-production – the first to bring the story to audiences outside London – arrives at Nottingham Playhouse on 28 April–16 May, after opening in Leeds on 11-28 March and Birmingham 1-18 April.

Director Matthew Xia said:

 “I can’t wait to get in the rehearsal room with this incredible group of artists to reimagine Small Island together. Working with such a talented, courageous and empathetic cast and creative team empowers us to delve deep – beyond nostalgia and heritage – to create a rich immersive world through which we can confront our shared history.

 “I want audiences to feel the elemental force of this story: the power of a Caribbean hurricane set against the post-war austerity of a Britain clinging to empire. But I also want them to feel the hope that propels people across oceans in search of prosperity, opportunity and belonging.”

Artistic Director at Nottingham Playhouse, Adam Penford, said:

“We are so thrilled to be collaborating again with our colleagues, Leeds Playhouse and Birmingham Rep, to bring this beautiful and powerful tale to the stage, with such a brilliant cast and creative team. And we are especially delighted to welcome back former Associate Artist Matthew Xia, who previously directed memorable productions of Shebeen and One Night In Miami in Nottingham. We can’t wait to see this large-scale, theatrical epic fill the stage.”

The cast includes Anna Crichlow (Tess, Ockham’s Razor; The Innocent in the Fir Tree, Shakespeare’s Globe) as Hortense; Daniel Ward (Tambo & Bones, Actors Touring Company and Stratford East/UK Tour; Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Royal Exchange, Manchester) as Gilbert; musical theatre star and finalist in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Over the Rainbow Bronté Barbé (Katherine Plumber in the original London production of Newsies, Troubadour Theatre; Kathy in Kathy and Stella Solve A Murder, Edinburgh Fringe and West End) as Queenie; and Mark Arends (Moby Dick, Royal & Derngate; Mr Bates vs The Post Office, ITV1) as Bernard.

Completing the cast are Mara Allen (Kenneth Branagh’s King Lear, Wyndham’s/The Shed, New York; An Octoroon, Abbey Theatre, Dublin) as Miss Ma/Celia; Rosemary Boyle (Dancing at Lughnasa, Sheffield Crucible/Royal Exchange Theatre; Of Mice and Men, UK Tour) as Mrs Ryder; Paul Hawkyard (Ghost Stories, ATG; Warhorse & Birdsong, West End) as Arthur; Zoe Lambert (The Railway Children, York Theatre Royal production for Bradford City of Culture; The Comedy of Errors, RSC) as Aunt Dorothy/Miss Todd; Jordan Laviniere (I Wish, Unicorn Theatre/New Victory Theatre, New York; Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Apollo Theatre) as Little Michael; Marcia Mantack (Of All The Beautiful Things in The World, HOME Manchester; Stepping Out, Vaudeville Theatre) as Miss Jewel; Andre Squire (Greenland Migration, HBO Max/Amazon Prime; Black Ops, BBC; (the) Woman, Park Theatre) as Elwood; making his professional theatre debut, CBBC presenter and Strictly Come Dancing semi-finalist Rhys Stephenson as Michael; Everal A Walsh (Through It All Together, Leeds Playhouse; Animal Farm, Leeds Playhouse/Stratford East/Nottingham Playhouse) as Kenneth/Mr Philip; Toby Webster (The Score, Theatre Royal Bath/Theatre Royal Haymarket; Whistle Down the Wind, Watermill) as Kip/Young Man in Sweetshop; and Phil Yarrow (Peter Pan Goes Wrong, West End & UK Tour; The Split BBC1) as Mr Buxton/Captain Soames/Sgt Thwaites.

Joining director Matthew Xia on the creative team are Set & Costume Designer Simon Kenny; Lighting Designer Ciarán Cunningham; Movement & Intimacy Director Asha Jennings-Grant; Voice & Dialect Coach Hazel Holder; Fight Director Kev McCurdy; WHAM Designer & Supervisor Dominique Hamilton; Casting Director Lucy Casson CDG; Composer Luke Bacchus; Music Mentor Ben Kwasi Burrell; Video Designer Gino Green and Associate Director Sara Aniqah Malik.

This bold new staging of Small Island 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 exhilarating new production draws on the joyful rhythms of calypso and the harsh realities of postwar 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.

Small Island at Nottingham Playhouse is sponsored by Daltons.