Deborah Frances-White’s play Never Have I Ever, produced by Melbourne Theatre Company, has arrived in her home country after a successful debut in the UK. It follows a disastrous dinner party between two couples who have known each other since university. As the night progresses, they dance between the forbidden fruit topics of sex, race, and money.
Never Have I Ever is one of the best shows I have seen in a long time; it is absolutely exceptional. The pacing is excellent, fluttering between a fun bender between friends and a nightmare between frenemies. There is mastery in settling the audience into the anxiety of a couple, nervous to tell their friends about their failed restaurant venture, ramping up into a climatic and highly dangerous bet that might save or destroy them.
I really enjoyed the playful wit of the script as it feels like a very natural and familiar conversation between friends. It is a reflection of any dinner party the audience might have attended before, with just a few more biting quips and higher stakes.
The show is expertly curated from the moment you step into the theatre with one 2000s banger after another to set the mood. Many thanks to Sidney Millar for reminding me to update my playlist! I love the clever use of Britney Spears’ ‘Toxic’ throughout the show as a subliminal tone shift that changes from cute icebreaker to creepy foreshadowing.
The brilliant writing from Deborah Frances-White (podcast host of The Guilty Feminist) has a way of addressing taboo topics, from gender to race to socioeconomics, in a lighthearted, yet also deeply serious manner. This allows the audience to lean into the raw nastiness of these complicated issues and reflect without judgment.
I encourage anyone who has ever argued with a straight white man about privilege to see the show (and the straight white men, too actually). I walked away with new perspectives about allyship and learning who to build bridges with and whose to burn. One might even say it was woke in a good way!
Director Tasnim Hossain has said that you can always tell when a cast has laughed a lot behind the scenes, and the quartet of Chika Ikogwe, Simon Gleeson, Katie Robertson, and Sunny S Walia is no exception. Each has a very strong sense of their character and a natural ease portraying them.
Gleeson has a knack for playing the man-you-love-to-hate with excellent comedic timing. Ikogwe plays with a deep passion for the black woman’s experience. Robertson has some cracking facial expressions as her character battles through her morals and reality. And Walia really finds his voice through the performance, just like his character.
The set, designed by Zoe Rouse, is beautiful, with homage to the Turkish ‘dine-in-the-kitchen’ vibe of the restaurant with little nooks and crannies for the characters and their deepest desires to reside.
Depending on where you sit in the theatre, there are some clever set design choices that create lines down the middle of an argument, heightening the tension. Lighting by Rachel Lee is used well to signal changes in mood and create chaos. Each element of the show is intentional and cohesive.
Unmissable for any modern man or woman struggling to scramble through the mess that is the current political climate, Never Have I Ever will have you in stitches and deep reflection all at once.
Never Have I Ever by Melbourne Theatre Company runs until 22 March at Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne.
Tickets: https://tickets.mtc.com.au/production/18882
Website: https://www.mtc.com.au/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/melbtheatreco/
Photo credits: Sarah Walker
