Small Island revival tour confirms casting

Casting and creative team details have been revealed for Matthew Xia’s new production of Small Island, adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson from Andrea Levy’s novel.

Small Island follows Hortense and Gilbert, Jamaican migrants who travel to Britain during the Windrush era, alongside Queenie and her husband Bernard. The story moves between Jamaica and post-war Britain, examining migration, identity and belonging through the experiences of its central characters.

The production is a collaboration between Leeds Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Nottingham Playhouse, in association with Actors Touring Company.

The cast includes Anna Crichlow as Hortense, Rhys Stephenson as Michael, Mark Arends as Bernard, Bronté Barbé as Queenie and Daniel Ward as Gilbert.

They are joined by Paul Hawkyard as Arthur, Rosemary Boyle as Mrs Ryder, Marcia Mantack as Miss Jewel, Everal A Walsh as Kenneth and Mr Philip, Andre Squire as Elwood, Mara Allen as Miss Ma and Celia, Zoe Lambert as Aunt Dorothy and Miss Todd, Toby Webster as Kip and the Young Man in the Sweetshop, Phil Yarrow as Mr Buxton, Captain Soames and Sgt Thwaites, and Jordan Laviniere as Little Michael.

The creative team working alongside Xia includes set and costume designer Simon Kenny, lighting designer Ciaràn Cunningham, movement and intimacy director Asha Jennings-Grant, voice and dialect coach Hazel Holder, fight director Kev McCurdy, wigs, hair and make-up designer and supervisor Dominique Hamilton, casting director Lucy Casson, composer Luke Bacchus, music mentor Ben Kwasi Burrell and video designer Gino Green.

The production opens at the Quarry Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, running from 11 to 28 March, before transferring to Birmingham Rep from 1 to 18 April and Nottingham Playhouse from 28 April to 16 May.