Cast announced for the stage adaptation of Floella Benjamin’s autobiographical book Coming to England.
Marking the anniversary of National Windrush Day, Nicoll Entertainment and MAST Mayflower Studios announce the UK tour of Coming to England, a brand-new stage adaptation based on Floella Benjamin’s award-winning and iconic book.
Coming to England is an inspiring tale about determination and perseverance from which hope and triumph emerge during the Windrush Generation and is being adapted for the stage by David Wood OBE, one of the country’s leading writers and directors of plays and musicals for children. It tells Floella’s own story of moving to England as a child. The UK tour will open on 13th September at Swansea Grand Theatre.
The cast for Coming to England hails from the stage and screen and is comprised of Julene Robinson (Get Up! Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, Lyric Theatre); Charles Angiama (Tell Me Everything, ITV 2); Maryla Abraham (gospel singer, writer, presenter, and actress); Shaquille Jack (For Black Boys Who Consider Suicide When The Hue Gets To Heavy, Apollo Theatre); Solomon Gordon (Welcome To Thebes, Leeds Conservatoire); Simone Robinson (Passing Strange, Young Vic, London); Alexander Bellinfantie (My Bloody Galentine, Benattar/Thomas Productions); Taya Ming (Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Shakespeare Company); Jordan Stamatiadis (Sleeping Beauty, Charing Cross Theatre); Christian James (Dirty Dancing, UK Tour); Kamarane Grant (Three Little Birds, ITV) and Joe Pieri (The Roles We’ll Never Play, Clapham Grand).
Aged just 10, Floella and her siblings left Trinidad and sailed alone to join their parents. But Floella’s excitement for her new life in England is short-lived, with her family subjected to racism and intolerance in 1960s’ London. Guided by her mother, and working twice as hard as her classmates, Coming to England tells the story of how a young Floella overcame adversity and grew to become Baroness Benjamin of Beckenham.
This joyous and energetic musical is the perfect entertainment for the whole family. Director Denzel Westley Sanderson is joined by Designer Jasmine Swan, Musical director Abdul Shyllon and Choreographer & Movement Director Kloe Dean.
Performance Dates
- 13th – 15th September Swansea Grand Theatre
- 18th – 21st September Oxford Playhouse
- 2nd – 6th October Lichfield Garrick
- 8th – 12th October Cheltenham Everyman
- 22nd – 26th October MAST Mayflower Studios
- 28th January – 1st February Nottingham Theatre Royal*On sale soon
- 18th – 22nd February Birmingham Rep Theatre
- 19th – 23rd March Royal & Derngate, Northampton
Coming to England: 13 September 2024 – 23 March 2025
Further Information: Children's Theatre | Family Days Out | Coming to England