The production is set to take place at Rochester Castle on the 11th and 12th February.
Medway-based theatre company Icon Theatre have announced casting and creative team behind its upcoming dance and light production If Not Now, which will feature visuals by NOVAK projected on to Rochester
Castle and a company of 175 perform as part of Medway Light Nights.
Arts and performance groups from the local community will take part in the production, including Icon’s youth-led programme Theatre31 (who seek to empower children and young people across Medway and Sheppey), Icon’s Community Chorus, Fat Lady Opera Community Chorus, Community Choir, Square Pegs Arts (an award-winning charity running projects for those with learning difficulties, autism and social communication difficulties) and Upside Down Dance Academy (who offer street and cultural dance classes, working closely to engage with
communities and local families). The professional dancers taking part in the production include: Ayesha Fazal (Romeo & Juliet, Birmingham Royal Ballet; PETRICHOR, ThickSkin Theatre), Cher Nicolette Ho (Greenwich Dance; Southbank Centre), Ena Yamaguchi (The King and I, The London Palladium; Swan Lake, Ballet Classique de Paris) and Patrick Ross Webster (Grand Gesture; Counterpoint Dance Company). Professional actors include David King-Yombo (The Princess and the Pauper, Hordern Ciani) and Jade-Ashleigh Jeffery (Little Fox’s ChristmasGarden, Brook Theatre).
Directed by Icon Theatre’s Artistic Director Nancy Hirst, the creative team behind the production includes: choreographu by Jon Beney (Co-Artistic Director and Founder of Tenfoot Dance Company), an original score composed by multi award-winning Darren Clark (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Southwark Playhouse; The Grumpiest Boy in the World, Victoria Opera), set and costume design by Sarah Booth, lighting design by Dan Terry, and Adam Finlay as projection content creator (co-founder and Studio Director of NOVAK).
Talking about the production, Nancy Hirst said: “I’m excited and humbled by the way in which our company made up of over 175 professional theatre-makers and performers, local individuals and community groups have come together to create If Not Now; a production that I hope gives voice to the stories and interests of those involved, and a stage to both local and national talents alongside each other. Our eldest performer in If Not Now is 88 years old and our youngest is seven. Everyone involved both on and offstage has brought something special to this
show – there’s a real sense of community.”
If Not Now will be performed at various times on the 11th and 12th February. To find out more visit: https://icontheatre.org.uk/show/if-not-now/