World premiere dance production by Jade Hackett, set to Omar Lyefook's music, tracing a Windrush-generation couple's love across four decades.
Jade Hackett brings The LOve Book to Sadler's Wells East from 12 to 20 February 2027, the world premiere of her first major dance production. It's a Sadler's Wells production co-produced with Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, and it doesn't stay in London for long — it tours to the Grand Theatre on 5 and 6 March. The story follows a young Windrush-generation couple across four decades, told in four parts like the four sides of a double LP, and the capital letters in the title stand for the leads: Leonard and Olivia.
It's a personal one, too. Hackett drew on her own grandparents, who emigrated from Jamaica to the UK in the 1950s, and the piece moves through hip hop and lyrical dance to trace a relationship over a lifetime. The music comes from Omar Lyefook, the 'King of British neo-soul' whose career spans more than four decades — he first made his mark with the 1990 hit 'There's Nothing Like This'. He's pulling from his back catalogue and his most recent studio album to build the soundtrack, and the result is described as a vivid celebration of Black British history and a portrait of the many forms love takes across a lifetime.
On stage, Zec Luhana plays Leonard and Sia Gbamoi plays Olivia, leading a cast of eight that includes Nethra Menon, Jaih Betote, Tanaka Bingwa, Nnabiko Ejimofor, Oluwatosin Omotosho and Malachi Welch. The creative team is just as large: Benjamin Kwasi Burrell on musical supervision and direction, Ti Green on set, Jodie-Simone Howe on costumes, Zeynep Kepekli on lighting, Benjamin Grant on sound, Jaih Betote as associate choreographer, and Tevae Humphrey on hair and make-up.
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The run is quite a stretch, from 12 to 20 February, with matinees and evening shows on the 12th, 13th, 18th and 20th, and matinees on the 14th. There's also a post-show talk on Tuesday 16 February if you want to stick around and hear more. The show runs about an hour and 40 minutes, and tickets start at £15 plus a £4 transaction fee. Sadler's Wells East is right by Stratford station, so it's an easy one to get to from across the city.
