From 11 May 2005

The Big Life is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Love's Labours Lost to 1950s London and the world of its newly arrived Caribbean community. The story follows three young Jamaican men who cross the Atlantic in 1948 on the Windrush, the first ship to bring Caribbeans to Britain. The three take a vow of abstention, swearing to remain single until they have set themselves up economically with a job and a home a huge challenge for young men thousands of miles from their homeland. The musical is alive with the ska beats and tunes that the Caribbean settlers would eventually bring with them to Europe. The music provides a perfect context for the topsy-turvy ride of romance, humour, dance and drama played out on the London streets. Tickets cost between 10 and 40.