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Year 10
Eduqas

Why did Winsome Pinnock write ‘Leave Taking’ and how do audiences respond to it?

I can explain why Winsome Pinnock’s ‘Leave Taking’ and how audiences respond to it.

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New
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Year 10
Eduqas

Why did Winsome Pinnock write ‘Leave Taking’ and how do audiences respond to it?

I can explain why Winsome Pinnock’s ‘Leave Taking’ and how audiences respond to it.

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Share activities with pupils
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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. ‘Leave Taking’ is considered a classic in the canon of Black British playwrights.
  2. Having a Black British female cleaner as the heroine was groundbreaking.
  3. Pinnock wanted to explore the unique Black British experience in her writing.
  4. One reason that ‘Leave Taking’ is universal is that the character of Enid seems to resonate particularly with audiences.
  5. The play remains relevant because of the Windrush scandal.

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.

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.

The idea of a canon is a highly charged one. Consider the debates that have surrounded the canon, and how far you want to explore this with your class.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You need access to a copy of Winsome Pinnock's 'Leave Taking' published by Nick Hern Books. There are also additional materials which should be downloaded.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Who does the term 'The Windrush Generation' refer to?
Anyone who migrates from one country to another.
Correct answer: 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.
Q2.
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.
Correct answer: 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.
Q3.
In 'Leave Taking', what is Enid's job?
nurse
transport worker
Correct answer: cleaner
teacher
obeah woman
Q4.
In Scene Two of 'Leave Taking', Brod says 'All my life I think of meself as a subject'.
Correct Answer: British, british, British., british., 'British'
Q5.
By the end of Scene Two of 'Leave Taking', what does Pinnock establish about the relationship Viv and Del have with Jamaica?
Correct answer: They know very little about it or their mother's past.
Correct answer: Del doesn't appear to be interested, even being rude about obeah.
They are both really interested in finding out more, perhaps even visiting.
Correct answer: 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.
Q6.
In Scene Two of 'Leave Taking', Enid says of her children, 'I a my English girls.'
Correct Answer: proud, Proud, proud., Proud., 'proud'

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
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.'
Correct Answer: canon, Canon, canon., Canon., 'canon'
Q2.
If you a play, you create a new production of it.
Correct Answer: revive, Revive, Revive., revive., 'revive'
Q3.
In her introduction to her play 'Leave Taking', Pinnock says that she became 'fascinated' by which character?
Mai
Brod
Correct answer: Enid
Del
Viv
Q4.
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'.
Correct Answer: caught, Caught, Caught., caught., 'caught'
Q5.
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.'
Correct Answer: unanswerable, Unanswerable, Unanswerable., unanswerable., 'unanswerable'
Q6.
In her introduction to her play 'Leave Taking', Pinnock describes Enid and Brod's journey from Jamaica as 'physical' but also ' '.
Correct Answer: psychological, Psychological, Psychological., psychological., 'psychological'

Additional material

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