Cranford Review 2019

“Small Island” Review
Cranford’s growing partnership with
the National Theatre has created
some excellent opportunities for
students this year including theatre tickets
at significantly reduced prices to see current
productions. In May, we were offered tickets
to see “Small Island” at The Lyttleton
Theatre based around the Windrush story.
A company of 40 actors tell a story which
journeys from Jamaica to Britain, through
the Second World War to 1948 – the year the
HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury
Docks in London; A story which has been
very much in the news of late, looking back
over the challenges these people had to
overcome. Twenty students in year 9 and 10
were fortunate to attend this performance.
Here is just one students review and the
impact it made on the young audience who
learnt about a significant time in our history.
Deepak Bahra (Creative Arts –Drama)
The play ‘Small Island’ was an exceptionally
good one which was enjoyed by those of us
who love and appreciate theatre and those who
maybe don’t have as much knowledge of theatre
and want to be entertained. It is set in Jamaica
in the first act, where we are introduced to the
character Hortense who wants to please and
impress her clever cousin Michael. We see how
their relationship with each other developed from
childhood. Then we are presented with Queenie, a
fair young woman who escapes her life on the farm
in Lincolnshire by marrying Bernard, a rather
uptight man, who later leaves to participate in the
war (so does Michael). Our final main character
is Gilbert, who aspires to be a lawyer and joins
the RAF for the chance at a better life. We then
see how their lives intertwine as they journey to
the UK.
This was a play that showed the concerns about
the treatment of Britain’s black citizens, the heartbreaking
realities of the Second World War and
how the characters developed through their story.
It was really engaging with gasps of shock and
cries of empathy coming from the audience. It is
entwined with slots of humour, tragedy and rapid
scene changes. The characters are somewhat
dwarfed by the historical and scene backdrops
but also become a part of them. The use of scene
placement and stage positioning I found very
interesting and loved how smooth transitions
were. I am very quickly becoming invested in the
workings of the stage more. The acting of course
was amazing too; the atmosphere in the theatre
was great and was an all in all great experience.
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Nikola Szczawinska (year 9)