Never Have I Ever is a thought provoking, manipulative, dramatic piece set in our world post COVID. A period where political correctness and over sensitivity have become the overriding values and source of conflict within society. It’s a deeply layered piece that explores these and other issues with emotion and passion.
The play opens with partners in a restaurant, Jacq and Kas inviting husband and wife, and long-life university friends, Adaego and Tobin over for dinner. Their plan is to reveal the first secret of the evening.
Their restaurant, which Tobin has invested in, is bankrupt. And like a kitchen in a restaurant, what ensues is a fiery, sweltering, torrid, pressure cooker where truths, manipulations and lies are revealed.
Emily Rose Brennan as Jacq is charming as she sashays and manoeuvres around the kitchens. She loves the world she has created in her restaurant which is conveyed with playfulness and fun. Even her necessity to choose to participate in the final ‘Never Have I Ever’ question that is posed, is portrayed with wit and charm.
Deep Sroa as the peace making, fence sitting Kas does a powerful job of conveying the qualities of his character. His solo, where he breaks and releases all the inner thoughts and feelings he has been holding for years, is delivered with authority and sentiment. It is ironic the peacemaker of the group suggests they play ‘Never Have I Ever’ and starts the chaotic events of the evening.
Ratidzo Mambo as Adego, plays the wife in a loveless marriage with conviction. Her stories and battles in her marriage and life are conveyed with strength and passion. Both her and Brennan manage to portray a true friendship that has stood the test of time.
Will O’Mahony has a magnetic presence on stage as the money making, capitalist Tobin. The obnoxious nature of his character oozes as he defends the right of capitalism and his ability to manipulate and make money.
The set by Brian Woltjen is cleverly designed with a giant wine cellar under the main stage. Actors are able to descend into the cellar via a hatchway in the stage. The main set is the restaurant Masada where four interactive chef kitchens are lined up across the stage.
Each kitchen has a hot plate from which steam and red light shoot up at various dramatic parts of the play. The effect is also used to reflect the transition of time throughout the evening and playing out of the various ‘Never Have I Ever’ questions.
However, at times when transitioning between the various questions, the blackout required for these seemed exceedingly drawn out, and sometimes the black out was longer than the scene.
Never Have I Ever teeters on a knife’s edge. It is a piece that peels away like an onion to explore human nature and relationships. You will leave the theatre having just witnessed a piece that will have you questioning and unpacking its themes and meaning long after the final bows.
Never Have I Ever
Heath Ledger Theatre – The State Theatre Centre of WA, 174- 176 William Street, Perth
Performance: Wednesday 18 June 2025
Season continues to 6 July 2025
Information and Bookings: www.blackswantheatre.com.au
Images: Will O’Mahony, Emily Rose Brennan, Deep Sroa and Ratidzo Mambo in Never Have I Ever – photo by Daniel J Grant | Emily Rose Brennan, Will O’Mahony, Ratidzo Mambo and Deep Sroa in Never Have I Ever – photo by Daniel J Grant
Review: Craig Dalglish