OKLAHOMA CITY – The best of British theater is coming to Oklahoma City Community College with a high-definition broadcast of a new stage adaptation of the award-winning novel “Small Island†on Nov. 10.
The subject of “Small Island†is particularly apropos in the current state of political conflict over immigration. The novel by British author Andrea Levy follows three intricately connected stories of a journey from Jamaica to Britain, through the Second World War to 1948. That date is important because the cruise ship HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury, beginning an era of West Indian migration and the modern British multiracial society.
The play’s protagonists are equally complex: Hortense yearns for a new life away from rural Jamaica; Gilbert dreams of becoming a lawyer; Queenie longs to escape her Lincolnshire roots. Hope and humanity meet stubborn reality as the performance traces the tangled history of Jamaica and the United Kingdom.
The play is the latest in a series of critically acclaimed performances at the National Theatre in the United Kingdom, recorded live and distributed worldwide. As part of National Theatre Live’s 10th anniversary, “Small Island†will be presented on a full-size cinema screen at OCCC’s 1,000-seat Visual and Performing Arts Center, 7777 S. May Ave.
The event is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. Nov. 10. Doors and concessions will open one hour before the show starts. Tickets for the performance are $15 for general admission and $5 for students. They may be purchased at the door, online at tickets.occc.edu or by calling the OCCC Box Office at (405) 682-7579. The Box Office is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
The Visual and Performing Arts Center is enjoying its fifth anniversary since an inaugural performance in 2014. Since then, the center’s visitor and subscriber base continues to grow as OCCC provides the community with the finest in performing arts.
