Small Island (London) London Reviews and Tickets
About the Show
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See it if beautifully done adaptation of the novel. Moving and compelling. Great acting and staging.
Don't see it if you don't care about long shows.
See it if great production. Very well told from various perspectives. Absorbing and thought-provoking.
Don't see it if It's almost 3hr 30 min long.
See it if you like history. Still recovering from the war, intertwines lives of characters you route for to triumph over discrimination & adversity.
Don't see it if you’re preference isn’t a historical look at post war cold, dreary London UK
See it if You love a massive long play, that is about the human condition
Don't see it if You hate long plays about racism and acceptance
See it if You like plays based on real events that use theatricality over kitchen sink realism. Learn about a generation through one woman's story.
Don't see it if You prefer lighter fare that doesn't dig too deep into history or social issues. You prefer plays that a short and whimsical.
See it if Want an insight into the making of modern Britain
Don't see it if you are a racist
See it if You were a fan of the book, you love intricate and absorbing storytelling and you're interested in the Windrush generation
Don't see it if To be honest I can't think of a reason why someone wouldn't like this!
See it if You’re interested in the history of the U.K, and the goldrush. If you appreciate great acting and storytelling you will love this too.
Don't see it if If you’re not a fan of play, this is a long one at a little over 3 hours.
Critic Reviews (5)
If Small Island appears to have taken a place in the National Theatre’s pantheon already, it is with good reason. And if it is part of a drive to put bums on seats, no matter: it is without doubt the highest calibre of guaranteed hit shows.
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But while Leemore Marrett Jr and Leonie Elliott deliver winning performances as the Jamaican husband and wife Gilbert and Hortense, there’s not much room for subtlety in this panoramic tale of 1940s immigration.
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The achievement of Helen Edmundson's adaptation and Rufus Norris's sensitive, fluent direction is that of all great art: it makes its points through its characters rather than by imposing arguments on top of them.
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Yet Small Island’s great triumph is to present that history as very much a living thing. The racism Gilbert encounters while working in a post room still stings from across the decades.
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The play’s running time is three hours and five minutes, but it is a testament to the acting, staging, and indeed the script that not one of those minutes hangs heavily.
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