Coming to England – Birmingham Rep
Floella Benjamin’s memoir about arriving in England from Trinidad is effectively Small Island from a child’s point of view. David Wood has turned the book into a pacey stage piece by flipping the story on its head and adding some good songs.
Benjamin’s story is linear but Wood begins with her being honoured in adult life and then doubles back to the bullying and racism she encountered as a child newly arrived in grey London. Thereafter we’re in Trinidad until the last four children finally board ship and set sail for the Motherland.
Benjamin’s colourful memories of her Trinidadian childhood mean a huge contrast between the colours, smells, flora and fauna of the Caribbean compared with 1960s England. Director and
