Winsome Pinnock’s 'Leave Taking'

Winsome Pinnock’s Leave Taking explores the topics of immigration and national identity, alongside the ramifications of generational conflict within domestic spheres. Set in late 1980s England, the play looks at symptomatic issues of migration, displacement, and hybridity. The opening scene of Pinnock’s Leave Taking establishes the tension between characters, focusing on generational conflict between a mother, Enid, and her daughters, Viv and Del. While the former is a first-generation migrant who travelled to Britain from Jamaica, the latter two are second-generation immigrants who grew up Britain and experience a level of alienation from their ancestral history.

Their differing attitudes towards Britain cause a rift between the two generations and the notion of where ‘home’ is. While Enid remembers Jamaica as a “place of hardship, poverty and lack of opportunities for black women, which catalysed her move to England”, Broderick - a family friend - misses the West Indies and refers to it as “back home.” On the other hand, as a second-generation immigrant, Viv is eager to learn more about her family history and Jamaican heritage. As Lynette Goddard explains, that this “will help her to resolve the sense of alienation and despair that she feels as a black British woman.”

As a character, Broderick offers insight into the treatment of immigrants within Britain. He mentions how he used to share Enid’s view and considered himself a British subject his entire life, until he was forced to pay fifty pounds to become an official citizen or he would have been deported. He then backs his point up further by recalling the experience of Gullyman, a fellow immigrant, who had his car vandalised with offensive slurs. Broderick’s highlighting of the racial abuse that immigrants, like himself, encounter not only reiterates the conflicting opinions of life in Britain, but also exposes racism and discrimination embedded within society.

Overall, Winsome Pinnock’s play covers a number or relevant and universal issues in an accessible manner. As a dramatic text it is both an enjoyable and riveting read.

Helen

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References:

Winsome Pinnock, Leave Taking (London: Bush Theatre,2018).

Lynette Goddard, ‘West Indies vs England in Winsome Pinnock’s Migration Narratives’, Contemporary Theatre Review, Vol. 14.4, (2004) pp.23–33.