The cast has been announced for the UK tour of the stage adaptation of Floella Benjamin’s much-loved and award-winning book, Coming to England. This vibrant and energetic new play with music from Nicoll Entertainment and MAST Mayflower Studios tells Floella’s personal story of moving to England in the 1960s at the age of 10. 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.
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), (The Night Woman, Barbican Centre), (The Witcher, Netflix); Charles Angiama (Tell Me Everything, ITV 2), (Bloods Series 2 for Sky), (The Little Mermaid, Hoxton Hall); Maryla Abraham (gospel singer, writer, presenter, and actress); Shaquille Jack (For Black Boys Who Consider Suicide When The Hue Gets To Heavy, Apollo Theatre), (The Hunt, St. Ann’s Warehouse, NY); Solomon Gordon (Welcome To Thebes, Leeds Conservatoire); Simone Robinson (Passing Strange, Young Vic, London), (Whitney Houston, Queen of the Night, UK and International Tour); Alexander Bellinfantie (My Bloody Galentine, Benattar/Thomas Productions), (Sweetpea, Sky); Taya Ming (Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Shakespeare Company), (Slumlord, Theatre Peckham), (The Legend Retold, Regents Park Open Air Theatre); Jordan Stamatiadis (Sleeping Beauty, Charing Cross Theatre), (Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends: A Celebration, Sondheim Theatre), (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Provincetown Playhouse, NY); Christian James (Dirty Dancing, UK Tour), (Romeo & Juliet, Guildford Shakespeare Company), (Magic Goes Wrong, West End); Kamarane Grant (Three Little Birds, ITV) and Joe Pieri (The Roles We’ll Never Play, Clapham Grand).
At the age of just 10, Floella and her siblings left Trinidad and sailed alone to join their parents in England. But Floella’s excitement for her new life 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.
Baroness Floella Benjamin comments, I am overjoyed and delighted that the fantastic cast for our emotive and significant show Coming to England has now been announced. Told from the perspective of a child, this heartfelt production uses music, dance, storytelling and drama to bring to life an inspirational Windrush journey about overcoming adversity and challenges through love, family unity and the feeling of belonging. Our cast and creative team bring with them a wealth of different experiences and skills, to a show that is packed full of lessons for families to engage with, all set to an upbeat soundtrack of fun musical numbers and songs. We can’t wait to bring Coming to England to audiences across the UK.
The new cast for this charming and optimistic play with music is supported by a renowned team of creatives. David Wood’s many previous successes have included productions from the works of Roald Dahl, Judith Kerr and Philip Pullman. He is joined by Director Denzel Westley Sanderson (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, National Theatre, winner of the RTST Sir Peter Hall Director Award), Designer Jasmine Swan, Musical Director Abdul Shyllon and Choreographer & Movement Director Kloe Dean. Completing the team are Lighting Designers Rachel Luff and Will Hayman, Sound Designer Beth Duke with Casting direction from Richard Johnston for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting.
Over the last five decades, Floella Benjamin has had a diverse and varied career across the entertainment industry as an actress, singer, presenter, writer, independent producer, businesswoman and media regulator. Floella has written over 30 children’s books. Coming to England was published in hardback in October 1995 and has since been published as an educational edition and is being used to teach modern history in schools and universities. Pan-Macmillan re-published the book as a 20th anniversary edition, which was selected as a Guardian ‘Book of the Year 2016’ and Times Book of the Month.
