REVIEW: Floella Benjamin’s Coming To England at MAST Mayflower Studios

Well, where to begin. This week at MAST Mayflower Studios is ‘Floella Benjamin’s Coming To England’ and all I can say is wow! This is a new stage adaptation of Floella’s award winning and iconic book of the same name. I remember reading this book in school and remember the impact that it left back then - let alone now. Seeing her story brought to life on the stage is exactly how this story should be told. This is a biopic, true story that takes you through a range of emotions but makes you leave on a high. David Woods has done an incredible job at adapting this to the stage in such a way to keep it engaging for all ages; for children who the book was intended for, or for the adults that grew up with Floella, and everybody in-between.

If you’re unaware of who Floella Benjamin is, let me give you a quick rundown. Floella Benjamin is a Trinidadian-British actress, singer, author, presenter, and politician. With an OBE and being a baroness, ‘Coming to England’ tells her own story of emigrating to England as a child and all of the challenges that this faces. Floella was actually in attendance at tonights performance and to hear her give a little speech at the end of the show was beautiful. She is such a genuine person and you can tell how much this story means to her even after all of these years. It is her life after all.

The cast, though quite small, were fantastic. There were 12 cast members all together and I don’t think you’ve quite seen energy until you’ve seen these guys perform together. The dancing literally made you want to get up and dance, the singing was feel-good, and the harmonies were extremely satisfying. The acting was also brilliant, from every cast member. They all knew their roles and they all played them perfectly. Julene Robinson played the role of ‘Floella’ and she was Floella through and through. In her mannerisms, the way she moved, and even the way she sounded. She gave such a powerful performance and during her acapella rendition of ‘Smile’, I instantly got goosebumps and started to shiver. Incredible! At one point in the show, she also shed real tears which was amazing. It just shows how tuned in to the role she is, and how much Floella’s story must mean to the cast as well. The whole of Floella’s family members were cast and played to perfection but in particular, ‘Marmie’, who was played by Maryla Abraham was sublime. The bond they all shared on stage was genuine and not only could you see this, you could feel it too. Bravo to them all!

The set was also really imaginative. I loved the fact that it was set as a big TV screen representing not only Floella’s time as a presenter on ‘Play School’, but also it was like we were rewatching her life on TV - play for play. I also loved the transition in colours between when they were in Trinidad and then when they were in England. This goes for both the set and lighting and it was just very effective. The minor use of projection was also actually quite effective. It wasn’t a necessity like it is in some shows, but it was a positive added extra. There was one moment at the end of Act 1 that I thought just looked beautiful. It was when Floella and her family were about to get onto the boat to England, and the whole way the stage was set looked like a frame from a movie. Incredibly aesthetically pleasing.

The music transported you straight from your seat in the theatre, all the way to Trinidad as well. You’ll hear some well known songs in there such as ‘Smile’ and ‘Jump In The Line’, and as I’ve already mentioned, the energy that they were performed with was just magical. The music was all done via a soundtrack but I suspect as this show grows, it will get that live band that it deserves. I remember saying that a live band would elevate this show to the absolute top, and I genuinely think that. There was a couple of saxophone solos within the story and I was originally unsure whether this was being played off stage or not, but this is the sort of thing I think they will add as the show grows. I did love how Taya Ming, who also played ‘Cynthia & Auntie’, played the steel pan drum live as this added so much more energy and you could feel the music as opposed to just the soundtrack.

This show, much like Floella herself, is incredibly powerful and inspiring. I feel gifted to have seen this show so early on, and I can’t wait to see it grow to the heights it deserves. I think Floella summed up her show perfectly when she said, “Coming To England is a story of how you face adversity with a smile”. And that’s exactly what the story did. The show made me laugh, tear up, feel angry, and of course smile. A real rollercoaster of emotions. Getting to meet Floella afterwards was an honour and a moment I will remember for an incredibly long time. As I’ve already said, this show is going to go places and its definitely going to get the backing it deserves. I think half of the power in writing and acting comes from how they didn’t back away from difficulties that she faced in her story. This gave the show a certain shock factor which again was perfect. To balance it out to keep the overall emotions of the show on a high is incredible writing and adapting.

For now, you can catch ‘Floella Benjamin’s Coming To England’ is at MAST Mayflower Studios until 26th October before it carries on with its UK tour. I urge absolutely everybody, of any background or age to go and see this if you can - you won’t be disappointed. If you can’t catch it when it comes to a theatre near you, let's just all cross our fingers that this deservedly ends up on a London stage in the future. I wish all the cast, crew, and company the best of luck and success going forwards.