Never is Now
Reviewed by Taylor Kass
Skylight Theatre Company
Through October 27
RECOMMENDED
There’s the warning, right in the title. We remember the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust with a promise of “never again,” but things in the United States are starting to look eerily similar to 1930s Germany: mass deportations, attacks on the press, borders barred to refugees, and incendiary “us versus them” rhetoric. Never again is happening right now.
Playwright Wendy Kout is not the first to draw this parallel, but the message bears repeating. Never is Now finds its world premiere at Skylight Theatre after a previous version of the play, then called Survivors, ran at the CenterStage Theatre in Rochester. Originally intended to be a thought-provoking piece for schools, it has evolved into much more than a conversation-starter.
Never is Now is a play within a play: A group of actors, a playwright, and a director rehearse a play based on testimonies from 10 Holocaust survivors. But in addition to the survivors’ powerful stories, we get to hear the actors’ own stories too. We see them get notes while preparing for rehearsal, receive new script pages, and get into character despite distractions. After the director (perhaps unwisely) tells the actors that they are welcome to stop the show at any time to discuss what they’re thinking, we see the emotional toll that telling these stories takes. We see when a survivor’s experience hits a little too close to home, when the political becomes personal.
The ensemble — a cast diverse in age, race, ability, and sexuality — remarkably differentiates among their various roles. They also make clear when they are playing the Holocaust survivors in the play-within-a-play and when they “break” character to return to their actor personas. Staging by co-directors Celia Mandela Rivera and Tony Abatemarco is simple and graceful, and intelligently highlights the unique talents of each ensemble member. Additionally, projection design by Lilly Bartenstein underscores the play’s most pivotal moments and makes the past feel present.
Never is Now is firmly rooted in the incredible stories of 10 people who lived through the Holocaust against all odds, but its play-within-a-play framing device also calls into question how we choose the stories we tell. As artists, to which material do we choose to lend our voices? And as people, how do we stand against oppression without letting anger burn us out? What can we do when it seems like we’re powerless in the face of injustice? Never is Now says it best: “We tell the truth and inspire others to keep fighting.”
Skylight Theatre, 1816 ½ N. Vermont, Los Feliz; Fri., 8:30 p.m.; Sat., 4 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through Oct. 27 (Note: no performance on Sun., Sep. 29). (213) 761-7061, (866) 811-4111 or https://www.SkylightTix.org. Running time: 75 minutes with no intermission.
