Powerful new co-production of Small Island announced for spring 2026

Journey from the sun-drenched shores of Jamaica to the cold, grey streets of 1940s London in Small Island, a powerful and intimate new portrayal of Andrea Levy's multi award-winning novel, adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson.

A Leeds Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Nottingham Playhouse production, in association with Actors Touring Company, this exhilarating new co-production – the first to bring the story to audiences outside London – premieres in the epic Quarry Theatre at Leeds Playhouse on 11 – 28 March before transferring to Birmingham Rep on 1 – 18 April, and Nottingham Playhouse on 28 April – 16 May.  

Directed by Olivier Award-winning director, composer and DJ Matthew Xia (Artistic Director and Joint CEO of Actors Touring Company), this bold staging offers a fresh perspective on a world shaped by empire and entitlement, caught between belonging and unbelonging, disappointment and hope.  

"Small Island resonates deep in my bones," he said. "As someone of Jamaican and English heritage – my father arrived from Jamaica in the 70s – I've personally navigated many of the tensions and connections Andrea Levy so powerfully explores.

"Audiences can expect to be immersed in an intimate, atmospheric production that evokes the textures and tones of the 1940s: the sharp cut of a demob suit, calypso crackling through a wireless, the gloom of blackout curtains.

"Small Island is about migration and memory, empire and entitlement – but also about love, across culture, colour, and class. I want this version to speak directly to audiences today, and open space for reflection in a Britain still reckoning with its past."

Leeds Playhouse Chief Executive Shawab Iqbal said: "We can't wait to share Small Island with audiences in Leeds, Nottingham and Birmingham – cities with deep connections to the Windrush story. We're also delighted to reunite with Matthew Xia and Actors Touring Company after the incredible success of Tambo & Bones in spring 2025.

"Together with our partners at Nottingham Playhouse and Birmingham Rep, we'll explore our collective history through the music, style, landscapes and characters whose stories echo across decades and continents. It promises to be an important and unforgettable journey for us all."

Adam Penford, Artistic Director of Nottingham Playhouse, said: "We are so thrilled to be collaborating again with our colleagues, Leeds Playhouse and Birmingham Rep, to bring this beautiful and powerful tale to the stage. And we are especially delighted to welcome back former Associate Artist Matthew Xia, who previously directed memorable productions of Shebeen and One Night In Miami in Nottingham. We can't wait to see this large-scale, theatrical epic fill the stage."

Joe Murphy, Artistic Director of Birmingham Rep, said: "We are incredibly excited to bring Small Island to Birmingham Rep as part of this major co-production with our brilliant partners at Leeds Playhouse, Nottingham Playhouse and Actors Touring Company. Andrea Levy's remarkable novel is a powerful, moving, and timely story that speaks directly to the heart of modern Britain. To see it brought to life on stage in this bold adaptation from Helen Edmundson—celebrating identity, belonging, and the legacies of the Windrush generation—is a profound moment for our audiences and our city and we cannot wait to share it with The Rep audiences."

Helen Jeffreys, Executive Director of Actors Touring Company, said: "We are thrilled to be bringing Helen Edmundson's adaptation of Andrea Levy's Small Island to audiences outside of London for the very first time. In exploring themes of migration, identity, and belonging, the production powerfully reflects ATC's mission to share global stories and foster meaningful cross-cultural dialogue. Following in the footsteps of our hugely successful national tour of Tambo & Bones, Small Island will see us once again collaborating with Leeds Playhouse as we present a bold, deeply personal new production of the multi-award-winning novel directed by ATC's Artistic Director and CEO Matthew Xia." 

LISTINGS INFO

A Leeds Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Nottingham Playhouse production, in association with Actors Touring Company

Small Island

Leeds Playhouse

11 – 28 Mar 2026

Press night: Tues 17 Mar, 7pm

Birmingham Rep

1 – 18 Apr  

Press night: Thursday 2 April, 7pm

Nottingham Playhouse

28 Apr – 16 May

Press night: Wednesday 29 April, 7.15pm

Age guide 12+

Running time TBC

ACCESS PERFORMANCES

Leeds Playhouse

BSL interpreted: Tuesday 17 March, 7pm; Friday 27 March, 7pm

Captioned: Friday 20 March, 7pm; Friday 27 March, 1.30pm

Audio Described + Touch Tour: Saturday 21 March, 1.30pm; Saturday 28 March, 1.30pm

Access productions at Leeds Playhouse are sponsored by Principal and Access Partner Irwin Mitchell

Birmingham Rep

Captioned: Thursday 9 April, 1.30pm & 7pm

Audio Described & Chilled: Saturday 11 April, 1.30pm

Nottingham Playhouse

BSL interpreted: Thursday 14 May, 7.15pm

Captioned: Saturday 16 May, 1.30pm

Audio Described + Touch Tour: Thursday 14 May, 1.30pm; Friday 15 May, 7.15pm

For further information, images or interviews, contact:

Jo Haywood, Media & Content Officer | [email protected] | 07957 181586

EDITORS' NOTES

MATTHEW XIA is the multi-award-winning Artistic Director of ATC (Actors Touring Company). He was previously Associate Artistic Director at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester; Director-in-Residence at The Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse; and Associate Director at Stratford East. He was Associate Artist at the Nottingham Playhouse alongside James Graham and Amanda Whittington.

Matthew has directed some of the UK's most talented actors, including Daniel Kaluuya, Cynthia Erivo, Joseph Quinn, Maxine Peake, David Haig, Samuel Barnett, Matt Henry, Karl Collins, Martina Laird, Christopher Colquhoun, Malachi Kirby, David Moorst, Natasha J. Barnes, Yolanda Kettle, and Erin Doherty.

Directing includes: The Harder They Come (Stratford East); Bodies of Water (ATC/GDIF); Skeleton Crew (Donmar Warehouse); The Architect (GDIF/ATC/Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation); Tambo & Bones (ATC/Stratford East); the Olivier Award-winning Hey Duggee – The Live Theatre Show (Kenny Wax Family Entertainment/Cuffe & Taylor); the Fringe First Award-winning Feeling Afraid as if Something Terrible is Going to Happen (Francesca Moody Productions/Bush Theatre); Rice (ATC/Orange Tree); The Wiz (Ameena Hamid Productions/Hope Mill/BBC Big Night of Musicals); Family Tree (GDIF/ATC/Belgrade/Brixton House); 846Live (Stratford East/GDIF); Amsterdam (ATC/Orange Tree/Plymouth Theatre Royal); Blood Knot (Orange Tree); Eden (Hampstead Theatre); One Night In Miami... (Nottingham Playhouse/Bristol Old Vic/HOME); Into The Woods, Frankenstein (Royal Exchange); Wish List (Royal Exchange/Royal Court); Shebeen (Nottingham Playhouse/Stratford East); Sleeping Beauty, The Blacks (Stratford East); Dublin Carol (Sherman Theatre); Blue/Orange, The Sound of Yellow (Young Vic); Sizwe Banzi is Dead (Young Vic/Eclipse); I was looking at the ceiling and then I saw the sky (Co-Director, Stratford East/Barbican); Suckerpunch Boom Suite (Barbican/NitroBEAT).

Matthew has worked with an array of renowned writers as a director and a dramaturg, including; Susan Lori Parks, Dominique Morisseau, Arinze Kene, April D'Angelis, Joe Penhall, Vikki Stone, Katherine Soper, David Levi-Addai, Yasmin Joseph, Mojisola Adebayo, and Nessah Murty. He has been a respected panelist for the Evening Standard Future Fund, Yale Drama Series, the Alfred Fagon Award, BEAM, the Bruntwood Prize and most recently the Eurovision Song Contest!

DJ / Composing / Sound Design includes: presenting an award-winning Hip-Hop show on BBC 1XTRA (DJ); The London Paralympics Opening Ceremony (DJ); The People Are Singing (Royal Exchange); Free Run (Underbelly); That's The Way To Do It (TimeWontWait); Pass The Baton, Bolero Remixed (New London Orchestra); Da Boyz, Family Man, The Snow Queen, Hansel & Gretel, Medea, and Squid (Stratford East).

Matthew was a founding member of Act for Change. In 2019, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the Arts London for his efforts to make theatre universally accessible by working to promote minority groups as theatre leaders, makers, and consumers.

LEEDS PLAYHOUSE has been one of the UK's leading producing theatres for 55 years. It is an award-winning theatre and a cultural hub, a place where people gather to tell and share stories and engage in world class theatre. It makes work which is pioneering and relevant, seeking out the best companies and artists to create inspirational theatre in the heart of Yorkshire.   

Its co-production of Animal Farm was nominated as Best New Production in Affiliate Theatre at the Olivier Awards 2025. The Playhouse's warm welcome was recognised at the UK Theatre Awards in 2022, when it was named Most Welcoming Theatre, highlighting its daily endeavors to make the building an inviting, engaging, creative, accessible and inclusive hub at the heart of the Leeds City Region. For the last three years, leading performers in Playhouse productions have been named Best Performer in a Musical and, in 2024, the Playhouse's production of Oliver! was named Best Musical.

Alongside the work on its stages, the Playhouse works creatively with the people, artists and communities of Leeds through its innovative, sector-leading Playhouse Connect programme. Focussing on two key areas – Learning & Skills and Creative Communities – Playhouse Connect engages with thousands of people in the region each year. As part of this work, its Artistic Development programme, Furnace, engages with theatre-makers, providing a creative space to refine their practice at all stages of their careers; it builds, develops and sustains projects to connect with refugee communities, young people and students, older people and people with learning disabilities; it hands over spaces to communities to use in ways they choose, from breakdancing to roller-skating, craft markets to tea parties, enlivening the building whilst fostering deeper relationships; and works in-residence around the city, connecting with people on their doorsteps.  

As a registered charity, Leeds Playhouse relies on the support of valued partners to make great things happen. It is grateful for the continued support of Arts Council England, Leeds City Council, The Liz and Terry Bramall Foundation and the many charitable trusts, business partners and individuals that continue to support the vital work of the theatre.   

NOTTINGHAM PLAYHOUSE is dedicated to making bold and thrilling world-class theatre, proudly made in Nottingham. It is joint winner of The Stage Awards' Theatre of the Year 2025.

Nottingham Playhouse is a registered charity, and one of the country's leading producing theatres, renowned for creating ambitious and diverse productions, many of which have toured the UK and transferred to the West End and Broadway.

James Graham's world premiere of Punch, based on Jacob Dunne's book Right from Wrong and directed by Nottingham Playhouse Artistic Director Adam Penford, transferred to the Young Vic in March 2025. The production will transfer simultaneously to the West End and Broadway in autumn 2025. The critically acclaimed, sell-out 5-star production received standing ovations every night and unprecedented audience feedback. James Graham was awarded the Kevin Pakenham Award (Longford Trust) for Punch, and David Shields won the Best Performance in a Play (UK Theatre Awards 2024). The original production of Punch at Nottingham Playhouse was sponsored by Nottingham Trent University.

In 2024, Adam Penford directed a brand-new, non-replica production of the smash-hit musical Dear Evan Hansen, which went on a 10-month UK wide tour before heading to Manila and Singapore.

Autumn 2025 sees the world-premiere of Caroline Bird's new play The Last Stand of Mrs. Mary Whitehouse, starring Maxine Peake and directed by Sarah Frankcom, followed by the UK regional premiere of Tony-award winning Eureka Day by Jonathan Spector.

The theatre's Participation department offers over 60 different programmes which create life-changing experiences for the local community. Nottingham Playhouse is a Theatre of Sanctuary and is committed to being a space where everyone feels they belong.

Nottingham Playhouse nurtures the next generation of theatre-makers through its extensive artist support programme, Amplify, which has over 1,000 active members and includes a regular programme of performances through AMPLIFY: SEASONS.

Nottingham Playhouse is committed to continually improving its sustainability standards across productions and its Grade II* listed building and in 2024 received a Carbon Literate Organisation Silver Award.

For more information, visit Nottingham Playhouse.

BIRMINGHAM REP has been at the forefront of theatre in the UK for over 100 years. The Rep has an unparalleled pioneering history and is the only producing theatre in the UK's Second City. It is the oldest building-based theatre company in the UK, and the forerunner of both the RSC and the National Theatre.   

The Rep's mission is to create artistically ambitious, world-class theatre for everyone. The commissioning and production of new work that is proudly made in Birmingham here at The Rep lies at the core of the theatre's programme, and over the last 15 years the company has produced more than 130 new plays.  

The Rep's acclaimed Creative Learning and Talent Development programme is one of the largest and most diverse of any arts organisation in the country. The Rep has nurtured new talent throughout its history - from Laurence Olivier and Peter Brook to its modern-day youth theatre, and the ground-breaking Rep Foundry theatre-makers programme, it has offered opportunity and training for thousands of early career writers, directors, and artists.    

2025 Rep highlights include a sold-out production and following community tour of Community written by proud Brummie and Rep Foundry Alumni, Farrah Chaudhry; a sold-out new production of Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns co-produced with Leeds Playhouse and Nottingham Playhouse.  

Artistic Director of The Rep, Joe Murphy's inaugural 2026 Spring season includes the world premiere of Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas written by Humphrey Ker and David Reed with original songs by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber; Jodie Comer's reprisal of her Olivier winning performance in a sold-out one-week only production of Prima Facie; following the success of A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Rep presents a stage adaptation of Andrea Levy's Small Island with Leeds Playhouse and Nottingham Playhouse, in association with Actors Touring Company; and two Rep-made productions directed by Joe himself – A Midsummer Night's Dream and Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.   

Many of The Rep's productions and co-productions go on to have lives beyond Birmingham. The theatre's long-running production of The Snowman celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024, alongside its forthcoming 27th consecutive season at London's Peacock Theatre.  Since 2021, other Rep tours and transfers have included Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Community, Of Mice and Men, Idiots Assemble: Spitting Image the Musical, The Way Old Friends Do, The Play What I Wrote, Animal Farm and East is East.

ACTORS TOURING COMPANY (ATC) is a portable portal to the world. Through our work, we connect global artistic voices to local communities.  

ATC is the UK's leading theatre producer of international plays. We create dialogue between Britain and the rest of the world – and between the intersecting cultures within nations.

We are passionate about giving voice to the 'outsider within'. We create a dialogue between those deemed 'the other' and audiences in every UK region and beyond: from Scarborough to Hong Kong.