The Gate Theatre’s staging of Jamaica Kincaid’s anger-filled essay on Antigua, A Small Place, is drawing audiences and critics to Notting Hill. With four-star reviews and assertions that the piece is “delightfully surprising”, “brilliantly poetic” and “urgent”, it’s easy to see why. We’ve collected some of the best reviews together. Have a read, then book your tickets!
Starring Cherrelle Skeete and Nicola Alexis, the premiere production of A Small Place runs in west London until 1 December 2018, so there’s still time to catch it.
Published in 1988, Kincaid’s A Small Place is a novel-length essay exploring her experience of growing up on the Caribbean island of Antigua. Through the lens of tourism, she examines the differences between visiting the holiday destination and living there, condemning the colonialism and power structures still felt in Antigua.
“What happens when the familiar becomes strange? When places that were once home no longer feel safe? Fly with us to Antigua and experience the island like never before…”
Kincaid’s book is adapted for the stage by Anna Himali Howard, who also directs the show. An alumni artist at the Gate Theatre, she was Paines Plough’s Trainee Director in 2016 as well as working as Associate Director on the acclaimed Fleabag and as Assistant Director to Ellen McDougall on Othello and In the Night Time (Before the Sun Rises).
Cherelle Skeete and Nicola Alexis star in the two-hander. Skeete was last seen on the London stage in the Young Vic’s hit production of Fun Home and previously played Rose Granger-Weasley in the original cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Alexis is also a former Potter star, having played Hermione Granger in the hit London production. She may be best known for playing WPC Ruby Buxton in The Bill.
The full creative team for A Small Place includes Season Butler (Dramaturg), Munotida Chinyanga (Sound Designer), Johanne Jensen (Lighting Designer), Camilla Clarke (Set Designer), Lucy Morris (Stage Manager), Emily Aboud (Assistant Director / Video Designer) and Sandra Falase (Design Assistant).
