NEVER IS NOW
Contemporary actors from diverse backgrounds are cast in a play which enacts the firsthand accounts of ten Holocaust survivors who were thrust into Hitler’s systematic genocide. The rehearsing cast members share their own awakenings and testimonies, linking the normalization of hatred then to hatred now. Weaving the past and the present, Never is Now is a warning for the future.
Adapted from SURVIVORS by Wendy Kout and commissioned, developed and produced by the CenterStage Theatre at the Louis S. Wolk Jewish Community Center of Greater Rochester, Ralph Meranto, Artistic Director.
Genre: Drama
Productions: Virtual production by Quarantine Players, Washington, D.C. (April 2021), Performing at the Tools for Tolerance conference for California educators Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles, CA (2020), Skylight Theatre Company, Los Angeles, CA (2019), USC Fisher Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (2019)
Developed: Skylight Theatre Company
Facebook: Follow on Facebook
Never is Now trailer
Spectrum 1 News story
“Intense and electrifying - NEVER IS NOW asks a host of thought-provoking questions. But, perhaps more importantly, it does so through glimpses of the very personal lives of people forced to experience the events in these tumultuous times.”
- Splash Magazine
“Top Ten - Recommended. Never is Now says it best: ‘We tell the truth and inspire others to keep fighting’... A cast diverse in age, race, ability, and sexuality — remarkably differentiates among their various roles.”
- Stage Raw
“Go see it. An extremely rare moment in time in which a portion of history… is presented in a very unique unveiling. The voice is different and you will be different for seeing it”
- BroadwayWorld
“Never Is Now offers thought-provoking theatre at its best.”
- Culver City News
“This is a theatre experience that you will be thinking about long after the curtain falls. I know I was.”
- Better Lemons
“Very powerful...very important play. Moving performances”
- Stage and Cinema
“Never Is Now plays a role in ensuring we will 'Never Forget.’ Personal stories...employing projections to powerful effect.”
- Larchmont Buzz
“Wendy Kout’s daring play within a play illuminates today’s ugly realities while recounting the dark legacy of the Nazi genocide. Find the time this weekend and see this powerful production.”
- The Hollywood Times
“Does more than tug at the heart strings, actually beating on one's heart like a drum… Savor the raw, seemingly effortless flow of story... It moves us, as it should. As it must.”
- Night Tinted Glasses
“Run! Run! Run! ... A fascinating night of theatre… quietly beautiful and wonderfully effective. Wendy Kout’s work cries out for an awakening, mostly for the people who turn their heads or tune out the unpleasantness around them.”
- Joe Straw