Starter quiz
- Who does the term 'The Windrush Generation' refer to?
- Anyone who migrates from one country to another.
- Those who migrated to Britain in the three decades following WW2. ✓
- Anyone from the British Commonwealth.
- Solely those who sailed from Jamaica to Britain on the Empire Windrush in 1948.
- British citizens who support migration.
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- In 'Leave Taking', what do the characters of Enid and Brod have in common?
- They are both parents.
- They are both extremely patriotic to Britain.
- They both migrated from Jamaica to England when they were young adults. ✓
- They both hide their past lives in Jamaica.
- They have the same mother.
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- In 'Leave Taking', what is Enid's job?
- nurse
- transport worker
- cleaner ✓
- teacher
- obeah woman
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- In Scene Two of 'Leave Taking', Brod says 'All my life I think of meself as a ______ subject'.
- 'British' ✓
- By the end of Scene Two of 'Leave Taking', what does Pinnock establish about the relationship Viv and Del have with Jamaica?
- They know very little about it or their mother's past. ✓
- Del doesn't appear to be interested, even being rude about obeah. ✓
- They are both really interested in finding out more, perhaps even visiting.
- Viv has talked to Brod about it and wants to know more about it. ✓
- They have visited a couple of times to see their grandmother.
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- In Scene Two of 'Leave Taking', Enid says of her children, 'I ______ a my English girls.'
- 'proud' ✓
Exit quiz
- Madani Younis, Artistic Director of the Bush Theatre, told Pinnock that he considers 'Leave Taking' a 'classic in the ______ of work by Black British playwrights.'
- 'canon' ✓
- If you ______ a play, you create a new production of it.
- 'revive' ✓
- In her introduction to her play 'Leave Taking', Pinnock says that she became 'fascinated' by which character?
- Mai
- Brod
- Enid ✓
- Del
- Viv
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- In her introduction to her play 'Leave Taking', Pinnock says the character of Enid reflects the plight of many migrants who are '______ between two worlds'.
- 'caught' ✓
- In her introduction to her play 'Leave Taking', Pinnock says that she believes writing is 'an exploration', the 'pursuit of the answer to an ______ question.'
- 'unanswerable' ✓
- In her introduction to her play 'Leave Taking', Pinnock describes Enid and Brod's journey from Jamaica as 'physical' but also '______'.
- 'psychological' ✓
Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- ‘Leave Taking’ is considered a classic in the canon of Black British playwrights.
- Having a Black British female cleaner as the heroine was groundbreaking.
- Pinnock wanted to explore the unique Black British experience in her writing.
- One reason that ‘Leave Taking’ is universal is that the character of Enid seems to resonate particularly with audiences.
- The play remains relevant because of the Windrush scandal.
Common misconception
Each production of a play is the same because the play's script is always the same.
The production of a play is always unique. The choice of director, producer, theatre, cast and the nature of its audiences all contribute.
Keywords
Canon - A collection of influential, significant texts, each considered representative of their time period.
Revive - If you revive a play, you create a new production of it.
Migrate - When you relocate from one country to another.
Universal - If something in a text is universal, then audiences, regardless of time period or circumstance, can relate to it.
The windrush scandal - When many citizens who had migrated to Britain between 1948 and 1973 were facing deportation under a discriminatory immigration system.
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