Leave Taking

This article is about the play by Winsome Pinnock. For the EP by Rocket Juice & the Moon, see Leave-Taking.

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Leave Taking
Written byWinsome Pinnock
Characters
  • Enid Matthews
  • Del Matthews
  • Viv Matthews
  • Mai
  • Broderick
Date premiered11 November 1987 (1987-11-11)[1]
Place premieredLiverpool Playhouse
Original languageEnglish
SettingLondon

Leave Taking is a play by Winsome Pinnock which was first produced by the Liverpool Playhouse in 1987.[1] Pinnock's first full-length play,[2] it won the 1991 George Devine Award and, in 1994, was produced by the National Theatre.[1] It was the first play by a Black British woman to be produced by the National Theatre.[3]

Leave Taking is a set text for the English Literature GCSE examined by AQA and Eduqas.[4][5]

Sypnosis

Leave Taking focuses on a British-Jamaican mother, Enid, and her two teenage daughters, Del and Viv, who live in North London. Enid moved from Jamaica as part of the Windrush generation with the promise of a better life, but now works two jobs to support bringing up her daughters. She worries about them and seeks guidance from Mai, an Obeah woman to whom she goes for readings, and from Broderick, a family friend.

Productions

Notable casts
Role Liverpool Playhouse[2] Lyric Hammersmith[6] National Theatre[7] Bush Theatre[8]
1987 1990 1994 2018
Enid Matthews Ellen Thomas Jenni George Sarah Niles
Del Matthews Natasha Williams Marianne Jean-Baptiste Karen Tomlin Seraphina Beh
Viv Matthews Lisa Lewis Ginny Holder Nicholle Cherie
Mai Lucita Lijertwood Doreen Ingleton Adjoa Andoh
Broderick Tommy Eytle Allister Bain David Webber Wil Johnson

Leave Taking premiered at the Liverpool Playhouse on 11 November 1987, directed by Kate Rowland and running until 5 December.[9] Philip Key, writing for the Liverpool Daily Post, said that the play was "a finely-hewn piece of writing" and "possess[ed] a universal appeal".[2] Key named it as among the contenders for the Daily Post's Best New Play of 1987 alongside Self Portrait by Sheila Yeger, but they were beaten by Barnaby and the Old Boys by Keith Baxter.[10]

The play was revived at the Lyric, Hammersmith in 1990, directed by Hettie Macdonald, running between 26 July and 25 August.[6][11]

After being included in Nicholas Wright's collection of 100 Best Plays, Leave Taking was picked to be produced by the National Theatre.[12] Directed by Paulette Randall, the production premiered at the Gulbenkian Theatre at the University of Kent in Canterbury on 8 December 1994.[7] It then transferred to the Cottesloe Theatre before a national tour which lasted until March 1995.[13]

The play was revived at the Bush Theatre in 2018, directed by Madani Younis.[3] Seraphina Beh and Nicholle Cherie starred as Del and Viv, Sarah Niles as Enid, Wil Johnson as Uncle Brod and Adjoa Andoh as Mai.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Leave Taking". Black Plays Archive. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b c Philip Key (13 November 1987). "Leave Taking (Liverpool Playhouse Studio)". Liverpool Daily Post. p. 13. Retrieved 28 February 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Leave Taking". Bush Theatre. Archived from the original on 9 March 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  4. ^ "GCSE English Literature: Inspirational new texts and poetry" (PDF). AQA. June 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 April 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  5. ^ "Leave Taking". BBC Bitesize. Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  6. ^ a b Mick Martin; Desmond Christy (7 August 1990). "The writer of racial wrongs / Hope in hell". The Guardian. p. 33. Retrieved 28 February 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b "Leave Taking". National Theatre Archive. Archived from the original on 17 April 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  8. ^ a b "Meet the Cast: Leave Taking by Winsome Pinnock". Bush Theatre. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  9. ^ "Leave Taking (Liverpool Playhouse Studio)". Liverpool Daily Post. 6 November 1987. p. 6. Retrieved 28 February 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Philip Key (2 January 1988). "And now for those laurels". Daily Post. p. 12. Retrieved 28 February 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Standard Entertainment Guide". Evening Standard. 24 July 1990. p. 35. Retrieved 28 February 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Betty Caplan (15 December 1994). "Home is where the art is..." Evening Standard. p. 188. Retrieved 28 February 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Val Javin (10 March 1995). "Conflict of interest: National to bring award-winning play to town". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. p. 14. Retrieved 28 February 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

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