Leave Taking is a play by Winsome Pinnock, a British playwright of Jamaican heritage. Written and set in the 1980s, it examines the ways by which different members of one immigrant family in London respond to societal pressures to assimilateTo fit in with your new surroundings.. The play centres around four principal characters. Enid, the mother, and her friend Broderick immigrated to Britain from Jamaica as part of the post-World War Two Windrush GenerationThousands of people who migrated from the Caribbean to Britain between 1948 and 1971 are known as the Windrush Generation. The first boat to arrive in 1948 was called the HMT Empire Windrush. . Enid’s older daughter, Viv, is an ambitious A-LevelThe national exams taken by 17 and 18-year-olds in parts of the UK. A-level grades are used to determine university places. student who wants to go on to study at university. The younger daughter, Del, is a more overtly rebellious personality and has a mysterious nightlife. Each member of the family must grapple with the effects that societal pressures to assimilate have on their identity, their heritage, and sense of belonging. These pressures create tensions within the family and with a society that often feels unwelcoming.
Leave Taking
Glossary
Assimilate - To fit in with your new surroundings.
Windrush Generation - Thousands of people who migrated from the Caribbean to Britain between 1948 and 1971 are known as the Windrush Generation. The first boat to arrive in 1948 was called the HMT Empire Windrush.
A-level - The national exams taken by 17 and 18-year-olds in parts of the UK. A-level grades are used to determine university places.
Eccentric - Unconventional or erratic.
Dyslexia - A common learning difficulty involving reading, writing and spelling.
Depression - Low mood that affects someone's daily life, and can last for weeks or months.
Curriculum - The subjects studied at school or during a course.