This assignment is based on the viewing of the play Small Island by Helen Edmundson.
Goal: The goal of this assignment is demonstrate your knowledge about the Artistic Elements, the Technical Elements and the Elements of Drama when apply to a theatre production. This subjects were discussed in Week (Module 2), Week (Module 3), and Week (Module 4). It is highly advisable that these modules are review before attempting to complete the assignment.
Write a theatre review of the production. Please concentrate on the artistic and technical elements of the production, as well as the character arc (character developing) of both females in the show: Hortense and Queenie and their respective boyfriend/husbands.
Explain in your own words how the set design helps to establish locations, how the lights help to establish mood, and how the costumes help set up class status. And, of course, do not forget to talk about the directing, the acting, and the overall production as a piece of art.
• Write three to four pages
• Make sure your paper is double spaced
• Follow MLA format
• Submit your paper to this dropbox.
Please remember that assignments have no point value but they do have an evaluation of “Excellent, Good, Completed.” Your assignments will be part of a “Class portfolio” that will be evaluated at the end of the semester in order to assign the final grade.
Helen Edmundson was born in Liverpool in 1964 and spent her childhood on the Wirral and in Chester. After studying drama at Manchester University, she gained wide acting, directing and devising experience with the female agit-prop company Red Stockings. Her first solo writing attempt, Ladies in the Lift, a musical comedy, was created specifically for the company in 1988. On leaving, she worked as an actress in various northwest theatres and on television. She has written an incredible amount of plays and adaptations. The majority of her plays and adaptations have been produced and have received major awards. Some have received Broadway transfers and others have been made into films. Her latest adaptation, Small Island, based on the book by the same name by Andrea Levy was produced by the National Theatre of London.
Andrea Levy
Andrea Levy was bored in 1956 and died on February 14, 2019. She was an English author best known for the novels Small Island (2004) and The Long Song (2010). She was born in London to Jamaican parents, and her work explores topics related to British Jamaicans and how they negotiate racial, cultural, and national identities. Other books written by Andrea are Fruit of the Lemon (1999), Never Far from Nowhere (1996), Every Light in the House (1994), among others.
Small Island
The play, adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson tells the deeply connected stories of three people against the backdrop of the complex history of the United Kingdom and Jamaica. It premiered at the National Theatre in October 2019 to critical acclaim. The production is scheduled to be done once again in October 2020, however, I don’t think the will happen due to the COVID19 pandemic.
Click the link below to access the recording of this play. When prompted use the following credentials: Username: contra/Password: costa.
SMALL ISLAND (NTL, 2 hrs. 50 minutes)
https://www.dramaonlinelibrary.com/video?docid=do-9781350999084&tocid=do-9781350999084_6146529417001