The world premiere of acclaimed choreographer Jade Hackett’s The LOve Book will take place at Sadler’s Wells East from the 12th to the 20th February 2027.
Sadler’s Wells has now announced the full cast and creative team of the world premiere of The LOve Book which as well as being choreographed by Jade Hackett will also feature music by British neo-soul singer, Omar Lyefook (known better as Omar).
Told through hip hop and lyrical dance, the show celebrates a Windrush love story spanning four decades – traversing familial, community and romantic love. After its run in London, the production will then travel to the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre in March 2027.
1950s, a young couple arrives in Britain as part of the Windrush Generation. Adrift in an unknown world, they have little to their name except the love they share.
Leonard and Olivia will be played by Zec Luhana and Sia Gbamoi respectively. They are joined by six other dance artists: Nethra Menon (Jasmine/Ensemble), Jaih Betote (Ensemble), Tanaka Bingwa (Young Victor/Ensemble), Nnabiko Ejimofor (Present Day Victor), Oluwatosin Omotosho (Ensemble) and Malachi Welch (Ensemble) for a cast of eight.
Meanwhile, The LOve Book features musical supervision and direction from Benjamin Kwasi Burrell, set design by Ti Green, costume design by Jodie-Simone Howe, lighting design by Zeynep Kepekli, and sound design by Benjamin Grant. Jaih Betote is also associate choreographer on the production, and Tevae Humphrey is the hair and make-up artist.
This show is the debut major dance production for creator and choreographer Jade Hackett, who has worked as both a choreographer and performer on a myriad of productions over the past two decades, most recently as Associate Director to Clint Dyer on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Old Vic). Recent choreographic credits include Hex (National Theatre), Miss Saigon and Little Shop of Horrors (Sheffield Theatres), Black Power Desk (Brixton House), Titus Andronicus (Royal Shakespeare Company) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Chichester Festival Theatre). Performance credits include Pied Piper (Boy Blue), Sylvia (Old Vic/ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company), and Nine Night (Trafalgar Studios).
Jade Hackett said: “With this show, which is inspired by the true story of my grandparents who emigrated to the UK from Jamaica in the 1950s, I want to capture and preserve the feeling of love that our Windrush elders gifted us: the shared cups of bush tea, the treasured trinkets in the front living room that we weren’t allowed to go into, the boisterous games of dominoes, and the example of a love that was built through patience, hard work and commitment, and that endured far longer than our swipe-era dating fatigue often allows us to imagine today.”
To book tickets visit: https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/the-love-book/