Name: Small Axe
Released: 2020-11-20T00:00:00.000Z
Cast: John Boyega, Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Letitia Wright

TV Show · Drama · History

SMALL AXE tells stories about London's West Indian community from the late-1960's to mid-1980's. The title is derived from a Jamaican proverb, which has resonance throughout the Caribbean, "if you are the big tree, we are the small axe".

2020 · 2h 8m

Starring John Boyega, Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn, Letitia Wright

Director Steve McQueen

EPISODE 1

Mangrove

The true story of the Mangrove restaurant, a lively community hub in London’s Notting Hill that was the subject of relentless police raids during the 1970s and a consequent trial.

2h 6m
EPISODE 2

Lovers Rock

Lovers Rock is for lovers and rockers everywhere; and a love letter from Steve McQueen to the blues parties of yesteryear, when clothes were tight, and dancers smooched and skanked to the selector’s choice for a hot summer night in 1981.

1h 9m
EPISODE 3

Red, White and Blue

After seeing his father assaulted by police officers, a young black man is driven to join the force, with hopes of changing racist attitudes from within. He soon finds himself facing both his father's disapproval and racism in the ranks.

1h 19m
EPISODE 4

Alex Wheatle

The true story of award-winning writer Alex Wheatle, who spent his childhood in a mostly white institutional care home and was jailed after the Brixton uprising of 1981.

1h 4m
EPISODE 5

Education

Education is the story of an everyday hard working family whose daily lives are disrupted when Kingsley, the 12 year old son, is sent to a school for those with “special needs”. Education reveals the disgraceful story of Haringey Councils Educational segregation Policy in 1971.

1h 3m