Adapted for the stage by David Wood (“the national children’s dramatist” – The Times) this vibrant and energetic musical is the perfect entertainment for the whole family. Bursting onto the stage with music, storytelling and humour, Floella Benjamin’s award-winning and iconic book Coming to England comes to life in this world premiere stage adaptation. Floella's dad was a musician who played the saxophone in a jazz band and when Floella was a teenager she started singing in the band, which she loved.

With a brilliantly coherent foreward, that is a Must Read, (I say because I know that some people skip over these parts and miss a great deal), it gives an insight for what's to come, with some of the history and circumstances laid out. The entire book is hugely interesting and many children will be able to relate to so many aspects themselves or learn so much from it and will (hopefully) see that moving can be challenging, especially to a different country and what can be faced and also how challenges can be overcome. They will also (hopefully) learn that humans, whatever their race etc don't need to be mean to each other (putting it politely) and learn tolerance and also learn something about the Windrush Generation. It is a book that may inspire and is written in such a way that children will be able to get into easily and understand immediately and may prompt curiosity and questions and thoughts. Floella Benjamin, with her new foreward proves she's still got it when it comes to children and young people, to reach out to them and their level.

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There is the fun and spectacle at the carnival and there are some great illustrations of this, as there are throughout the book. Between that and church life, children will be able to see the British (and other countries) influences. Floella was the first person in this country to appear on TV with beads in her hair, but Floella didn't just appear in children's TV shows, she started making them as well - which means that as well as being on the TV herself, it became her job to help other people also appear on TV. An inspirational story of hope, determination and triumph brought to life in this moving musical journey.

I am absolutely thrilled that the musical production of my book Coming to England which has been adapted by the fantastic award winning playwright David Wood, will have its world premiere at The Rep early next year. I cannot wait to see the story about my experiences arriving in the UK come to life on the stage in front of audiences of all ages. What a wonderful way for a new generation of people to get to know this Windrush story.” Floella Benjamin As well as being a writer, can you remember any of the other jobs Floella has had? (Singer, actor, TV presenter and TV producer, writer of children's books, businesswoman, politician) In spite of the initial cruelty, the Windrush Generation's values of hard-work, empathy and respect contributed significantly to making Britain one of the most tolerant multi-cultural societies in the world. There are plenty of adjective rich descriptions of family, festivals and food in the Caribbean; children can marvel at discovering pigeon peas, cassava, dasheen and saltfish.

Floella writes eloquently about growing up on a Caribbean island with her parents and five siblings, wonderfully evoking a sense of sunshine, love and laughter. She also speaks candidly of the hostile reception she receives on arrival in Britain, where she is seen as a colour rather than a person, and shows great resilience, determination and courage when facing this discrimination.

Readers get to know a little of Dame Floella Benjamin's brothers and sister - Ellington, Sandra and Lester whose mother they call Marmie, in affectionate terms, who met Dardie aged 19, all of which I think is just lovely. The memoir starts with Life in Trinidad and it feels quite uplifiting in some ways and warm. There is much enjoyment for children to get their teeth into and so much knowledge to be gained about food and other parts of the culture. No matter where you're from, whatever your culture, it shows that some things are the same the world over, such as baking. This is one of the beauties of this book, it starts off showing that there are similarities in life, after all, who doesn't at the very least, like cake or ice cream? It has such a positive feel to it for children to read about that is heartwarming as it will make it easy then for children to warm to it. Then there's school life, so some of this will be familiar to children too, although there are some changes, but this is where it's interesting for children, and it was for me growing up too, as I grew up without the fear of the belt, whipping down on me, but in the 60's, 70's this seemed more like the norm. Floella has done so many jobs in her life. She's an actress, singer, businesswoman, politician, TV presenter and writer of children's books. Wow! Discussion. Talk about the many different jobs that Floella has done: actress, author, businesswoman, politician, writer of children’s books, presenter and singer. Which of those jobs do the children think they would like to do - and why? What sort of person is able to do lots of different jobs? In 1960, at the age of 10, Floella moved here to the United Kingdom. She says she did not feel welcome in the UK and that she found it really hard to fit in. When Floella left school she went to work in a bank, but what she really wanted to do was show business - acting and singing in front of an audience, either on TV or in a theatre. Floella went on to appear in many different shows, and when she was 27 years old Floella became one of the presenters of a children's TV show called Play School . It's one of the most popular children's TV programmes ever!There is a transforming moment when Benjamin turns away from anger and embraces positivity in response to race hate, but this comes in a heavily message-bound ending. There are occasional invitations for audience participation – we sing “If you’re happy and you know it” and we stamp our feet. This brings fun for kids and nostalgia for adults but it is not enough to power the drama on. What is needed is greater pace, deeper emotion, more detail and much more story. It's perfect for bookcases everywhere and in classrooms. Teachers and children's group leaders could easily find creative ways of using this book, there's so much scope to be inspired from it to teach children of Trinidad through the memoir, the carnival, the food. There's also a lot of discussion about different topics that come through in the book too. It is as relevant then as it is for today's generation. Coming To England is Timeless! Coming to England is an autobiographical account of Benjamin’s experiences of moving from Trinidad to England as a young child in 1960. Illustrations are provided by Michael Frith, which bring the scenes, settings and cultural contrasts into focus for the reader. The book vividly describes Benjamin’s family life in Trinidad where she brings the beautiful scenery and the rich culture to life. We then follow Benjamin as she and her siblings’ journey across the sea to England, where she presents an unsettling account of her experiences. The book discusses the racism she encountered from classmates, teachers, shopkeepers, and wider society, and starkly portrays the impact this had on her as a child, while discussing how she was able to overcome and thrive from adversity. Benjamin considers the impacts of colonialism, national identity, and racism in post-war society all from the eyes of a young child. Coming to England was first published in 1996, and since then has been adapted by the BBC for television, was added to the national curriculum list of educational titles in 2003, and in 2020 has been re-adapted into a picture book for younger children. Coming to England has been used frequently by teachers to introduce the topic of racism in Britain to younger children. The book sensitively, yet very truthfully explores and examines the theme from the eyes of a child, and is therefore excellent to use in the classroom as it brings to light an important issue that some children might otherwise be unaware of.