Skip to content
Oak National Academy
Oak National Academy
View my library
0
Teachers
Pupils
View unit
New
New
Lesson 27 of 35
  • Year 9

Rufus Norris on directing and adapting 'Small Island'

I can understand and explain Rufus Norris’s ideas about directing and adapting 'Small Island', including how the play tackles social issues.

Download all
Share activities with pupils
View unit
Lesson 27 of 35
New
New
  • Year 9

Rufus Norris on directing and adapting 'Small Island'

I can understand and explain Rufus Norris’s ideas about directing and adapting 'Small Island', including how the play tackles social issues.

Download all
Share activities with pupils

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

These resources were created for remote use during the pandemic and are not designed for classroom teaching.

View new resources

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Norris explains how the production coincided with the Windrush scandal and helped highlight its story.
  2. Norris emphasises the importance of direct address in creating a connection between the characters and the audience.
  3. Norris says focusing on three characters strengthened the metaphor of Jamaica and the UK as two connected islands.
  4. Norris explains the challenge of producing the play during the significant events of 2019 to 2022.
  5. Norris suggests that the play is hopeful because there is “love”, but it remains realistic.

Keywords

  • Optimistic - feeling hopeful and positive about the future

  • The Windrush Scandal - a problem where people from the Caribbean, who had lived in the UK for years, were wrongly treated by the government

  • Exacerbate - to make a bad situation worse

  • Black Lives Matter - a group and movement that works to stop unfair treatment and violence against Black people

Common misconception

The director just tells the actors where to stand and how to say their lines.

According to Norris, that’s only the simplest description. A director also creates an atmosphere of confidence, supports actors, makes key creative decisions, and ensures the whole production comes together smoothly.


To help you plan your year 9 English lesson on: Rufus Norris on directing and adapting 'Small Island', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

You may wish to consider the timing of this lesson. Each learning cycle can be taught as a standalone lesson if needed. This will ensure there is enough time to watch and fully engage with each of the videos.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

Skip lesson video

Loading...

Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
What is the main purpose of a stage adaptation?

to make the story longer
to change the author’s original message
Correct answer: to bring a story from a book to life on stage
to make the story only about one character

Q2.
Which of these best explains the purpose of direct address?

to describe the setting
Correct answer: to allow characters to connect directly with the audience
to replace dialogue between characters
to make the audience work hard

Q3.
Why might a director choose to focus on only a few characters when adapting a novel for the stage?

to avoid casting too many actors
Correct answer: to focus on central conflicts and relationships
to make the story shorter
to copy the book exactly

Q4.
Which of these is an effect of using direct address in theatre?

Correct answer: It allows the audience to feel closer to the character.
It hides the character’s true feelings.
It replaces stage directions.
It creates distance between audience and specific characters.

Q5.
What was the Windrush generation?

A famous ship from the 1800s.
A group of British politicians in the 1940s.
People who moved from Britain to Jamaica after World War II.
Correct answer: People who moved from the Caribbean to Britain after World War II.

Q6.
How might the play 'Small Island' help the audience understand the Windrush generation?

Correct answer: By focussing on the daily lives and struggles of Windrush migrants.
By focussing only on life in Jamaica as part of the British Empire.
By focusing on British government policies only.
By focussing on pre war attitudes and values towards Britain.

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
Which two major events does Rufus Norris say affected the second 'Small Island' production?

Brexit and the Queen’s Jubilee
Correct answer: The Black Lives Matter movement and Covid-19
The London Olympics and Windrush scandal
The introduction of new theatre technology

Q2.
In the stage version of 'Small Island', why was Bernard’s story in India reduced?

It was too expensive to stage.
It was too violent.
Correct answer: It was far from the central axis of Britain–Jamaica.
Andrea Levy requested its removal.

Q3.
Is the statement true or false? Rufus Norris describes Small Island as a hopeful play, but not “rose tinted.”

Correct Answer: true, t, True, T

Q4.
According to Rufus Norris, why was Helen Edmundson chosen to adapt 'Small Island'?

She worked for the National Theatre already.
She specialised in writing new plays.
She was Jamaican and part of the Windrush generation.
Correct answer: She had adapted many classics and was loyal to source texts.

Q5.
According to Rufus Norris, why was the rehearsal process for 'Small Island' more difficult in 2022 than 2019?

The casting was changed.
The play was moved to a new theatre space.
Correct answer: Social distancing made rehearsals more fragmented.
Andrea Levy changed the script.

Q6.
What does Norris mean by a “poetic parallel” with the Windrush scandal and the production of 'Small Island'?

The scandal was a fictional invention.
Correct answer: The scandal mirrored the themes of the play.
The scandal inspired Levy to write the novel.
The scandal meant the play could not be staged.