Small Island

"One of the most important plays of the year." – Michael Billington, The Guardian

Andrea Levy’s epic, Orange Prize-winning novel bursts to new life on the Olivier stage. A company of 40 tells a story which journeys from Jamaica to Britain, through the Second World War to 1948 – the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury. Adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson, Small Island follows three intricately connected stories. Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica, Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer, and Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Hope and humanity meet stubborn reality as the play traces the tangled history of Jamaica and the UK.

This production includes a 10 minute intermission; a lunch menu will be available before showtime that you can order from for the intermission. The Friday 7/26 screening features English subtitles as part of our accessibility initiative.

National Theatre Live is a groundbreaking project to broadcast the best of British theatre live from the London stage to cinemas around the world, including Coral Gables Art Cinema! Tickets to these special screenings are $20 and under ($16 for Cinema members). Friday screenings feature English subtitles as part of our commitment to make programs more accessible to d/Deaf and hard of hearing audiences.

Check out the rest of our National Theatre Live program!