Theatre Review: Never Have I Ever

The Play: Never Have I Ever by Deborah Frances-White

The Company: Melbourne Theatre Company

The Space: The Fairfax Theatre at the Arts Centre

Until 22 March

Stars: 4.5

I love walking into a play blind and coming out amazed. Going into the theatre this evening all I knew was that Never Have I Ever ran for two hours and twenty minutes and there was a cast of four. 

I walked out very, very happy. 

This is awesome. Funny, smart, annoying in a great way, thought-provoking and current. 

I've taken this from the The Guardian's review, which gives the dot points of the set up;

Australian-born, UK-based comedian and podcaster turned playwright Deborah Frances-White sets her gathering in a restaurant, or at least the husk of one. Married couple Jacq (Katie Robertson) and Kas (Sunny S Walia) are bankrupt restaurateurs, their dream business having failed despite their best efforts. Before the creditors come and take the lot, they decide to have a final meal with mates Adaego (Chika Ikogwe) and her husband, Tobin (Simon Gleeson). Tobin provided Jacq and Kas with the seed money for the restaurant. This is their last meal. 

And from the MTC website. "Fuelled by simmering tensions and top shelf booze, things boil over when a drinking game uncovers the real dynamics driving their relationships: power, resentment, envy and fear. And that’s just the entrée.

Beneath the in-jokes and flirting, self-care and teasing is a seething stew of money, sex, race and class. Stirred through with a wicked sense of humour, Never Have I Ever is delicious proof that the most personal form of politics is also the most explosive.

This really was fantastic entertainment. It had the audience enraptured from the opening scenes to the final minutes. Tasnim Hossain's direction keeps the action moving at a great pace, whilst allowing for the story to develop. 

Deborah Frances-White is an Australian living in London and has found a good mix of entitlement, expectation, race, money, expectation and sexuality. It seems a lot. It is, but it's shown in a very fun way. 

A completely female driven creative team is also welcomed. 

I do agree with The Guardian's view that this is a little white-washed but isn't some stereotyping good for making things flow. On meeting Tobin, I wanted to hit him - but his 'plight' is portrayed in an interesting way, that being the declining power of the rich white dude. Adaego's desire to be more, Jacq's desire to shake her working-class roots and Sunny's wanting to be seen more than just the brown guy are all stereotypes. 

Yet you throw and explosive game of Never Have I Ever into the mix and fireworks prevail. 

If all of the plays in this year's MTC subscription are of this calibre, we'll do well. 

Although not perfect, this was a very entertaining and thought-provoking night out. 

Today's Song: