Synopsis
Leave Taking
$14.99 Published by Nick Hern Books
1 Male 4 Female
Two generations
Three incredible women
Leave Taking is an epic story of what we leave behind in order to find home
In North London, Del and Viv are soul-sick
Del doesn't want to be at home; staying out late 3 p.m.-the-next-day late is more her thing
Viv scours her schoolbooks trying to find a trace of herself between their lines
When Enid takes her daughters to the local obeah woman for some traditional Caribbean soul-healing, secrets are spilled
There's no turning back for Del, Viv and Enid as they negotiate the frictions between their countries and cultures
REVIEWS
★★★★★ "A beautiful, humourous and often impossibly sad portrayal of the immigrant experience ... Pinnock's dialogue is a subtle marvel, offering all the poetry and rhythm of the Jamaican accent, where phrases sing with layers of meaning. It is a brilliantly wrought piece of drama" ~ Broadway World
★★★★★ "A devastatingly powerful story of a British-Caribbean family... why Winsome Pinnock's play isn't on the English Literature syllabus is a mystery to me, given its shocking contemporary relevance ... this play warms and devastates" ~ Whatsonstage
★★★★★ "An epic story that spans generations and puts the narratives of four formidable women on the centre stage ... Leave Taking is an undeniably important addition to our theatrical landscape" ~ The Stage
★★★★ "There are few plays in British theatre that speak so directly, resonantly and truthfully to the experience of the black woman ... it does this with such profound eloquence .... rousing to watch timely in its politics, yet timeless in its themes" ~ Guardian