National Theatre postpones Small Island return to 2021

The National Theatre has delayed the upcoming autumn run of Small Island to 2021.

The venue today told customers that "we have made the decision to postpone the current schedule of Small Island performances. Our reopening plans continue to evolve dependent on government advice, and we are working hard to bring this production back to the stage later in 2021." Originally the piece was meant to run from 28 October 2020 to 9 January 2021.

At the moment, the venue has cancelled all performances until the beginning of September, with discussions ongoing regarding staff redundancies. It is unknown whether or not any performances will go ahead at the theatre in October.

Helen Edmundson's stage adaptation of Andrea Levy's Orange Prize-winning novel is directed by the venue's artistic director Rufus Norris and premiered on the Olivier stage in the spring of 2019. Small Island's cast was originally led by Leah Harvey as Hortense, Aisling Loftus as Queenie and Gershwyn Eustache Jnr as Gilbert. Journeying from Jamaica to Britain in 1948, the play was also be broadcast live as part of NT Live on 27 June 2019.

It has set and costume design by Katrina Lindsay, projection design by Jon Driscoll, lighting design by Paul Anderson, composer Benjamin Kwasi Burrell, sound design by Ian Dickinson, movement direction by Coral Messam and fight direction by Kate Waters.

While the show itself may have been postponed, the venue will be broadcasting the piece on its YouTube channel next week to raise funds whilst the lockdown continues. You can find out more here.