better late, than never
by Mohammed ‘Ayo Busari’
29th - 31st January 2026 // 6:30PM
Subiaco Arts Centre
Love, Friendship & Unspoken Truths
In the heart of Jack’s cozy studio apartment, emotions collide as he prepares to propose to his girlfriend, Frances. Joined by close friends Stella and Ali, the trio’s camaraderie is a mixture of playful banter, mutual support, and underlying tensions. As the morning unfolds, what begins as a simple gathering soon unravels the complex layers of their relationships, exposing hidden truths, unspoken feelings, and the delicate balance of love, loyalty, and friendship.
Through humor, heartache, and raw vulnerability, the play sheds light on the complexities of navigating relationships in young adulthood—where decisions are uncertain, and emotions are tangled. It offers a powerful exploration of the realities of friendship, love, and the transformative power of human connection
The running time for this production is approximately 60 minutes.
Originally developed as part of WA Youth Theatre Company’s 24 Hour Generator (2024) and later through Blue Joy’s inaugural New Beginnings program (2025).
Creative Team
Playwright & Creative Producer
Mohammed ‘Ayo Busari’
Director
Harper Nguyen
Cast
Lizzy Ellis
Rebecca Collin
Nathan Calvert
Producer & Stage Manager
Anja Starkiss
Composer & Sound Designer
Mohammed ‘Ayo Busari’
Set & Costume Designer
Megan Mak
Lighting Designer
Reese Horne
Dramaturg
Elisa Williams
Initimacy Coordinator
Molly Tipping
The running time for this production is approximately 60 minutes.
Writer’s Note
better late, than never. began as a quiet question I kept returning to: how much of our lives are shaped by the things we never say?
I’ve always been drawn to the spaces between people, the pauses, the unfinished thoughts, the feelings that sit just beneath the surface of friendship. Growing up and moving into adulthood, I’ve seen how love, loyalty, and fear can coexist, often without clear boundaries. This play lives in that uncertainty.
At its core, this work is about friendship, the kind that forms early, stretches over time, and carries versions of ourselves we don’t always recognise anymore. It explores how memory shifts, how moments gain meaning long after they’ve passed, and how the people closest to us often know us in ways we’re still discovering.
I wanted the play's world to feel intimate and familiar, while allowing emotion and time to flow fluidly. Rather than offering clear answers, the piece sits with questions about timing, honesty, and what it costs to hold onto something for too long.
better late, than never. is an invitation to lean into the in-between: between past and present, between love and friendship, between what’s remembered and what’s felt.
This work exists because of shared curiosity and a willingness to sit with uncertainty. Ultimately, this play isn’t about resolution; it’s about recognition. Of ourselves, of each other, and of the quiet truths we carry.
Director’s Note
What makes a good romantic story? I thought I didn’t know, but then I looked at all my favourite movies. The Before Trilogy, Notting Hill, Once, When Harry met Sally. I have pretty good taste. All these movies have something in common: Love persisting through obstacles. The obstacles can come in all shapes and sizes, be it your own egos, distance, sometimes it’s a ten tonne truck plowing into the love of your life as she bikes her way home. It’s understanding the conflict that drives a good love story.
So when I was asked to direct “Better Late than Never”, I had one question: What is the obstacle? The answer? They don’t want to ruin their beautiful friendship, and a secret second obstacle. Not wanting to ruin a friendship is a good obstacle. A little tired though. Everyone and their dog is scared of ruining a friendship with someone they have a crush on. Give me something juicy to work with. Then the second obstacle hit “Better Late than Never”. I can’t tell you what it is, in case you’re reading this before you watch the show, but I’ll just say it’s something that consistently haunts my thoughts, and runs in my family. Waking up as an alien in your own body, to keep it vague, is something I am deeply familiar with.
Of course, a director is nothing without a script to guide her, and actors to, of course, direct. I am lucky to have been gifted the opportunity to direct the gorgeous, vulnerable writings of Ayo Busari, and what a gift it is. It’s poetic, vulnerable, and begs so many questions to the audience to force them all to look inwards.
In terms of gifts, none come more wrapped in perfect silk ribbons than the cast: Nathan Calvert, Lizzy Ellis, and Rebecca Collin. These three made rehearsals feel like a dream, and directing feel like a breeze. It’s only my second time directing, and these folks make me feel like I have an EGOT.
Special mentions to Lighting designer Reese Horne, Anja Starkiss our producer, and Megan Mak, our production designer, you all rock, and have been my rocks since the beginning of the process.
If you see me in the lobby, consider buying me a beer.
Producer’s Note
This production of better late, than never marks the culmination of two years of work, through WAYTCo’s 24 Hour Play Generator, to a development showcase as part of New Beginnings 2025 and now to FRINGE WORLD Festival. I have only entered the process from mid-2025, but immediately recognise the amount of work that has gone into bringing this production to its full-length form.
The show has always been a gorgeous exploration of yearning, and the way it can interfere with friendship, but in this newer version of the show, we are also grappling with the idea of loss in many different ways, asking who we turn to in our lowest moments.
This show is bolstered by an amazing team of actors, designers and creatives who share in this love of friendship, and it has been such a wonderful experience seeing their ideas come together to create the world of Stella, Jack and Ali.
better late, than never leaves me wondering who I hold onto when I am confused, lost, and struggling to find words.
I hope you leave this show feeling the yearning, the want for more, but also grounding yourself in gratitude for all that platonic love has to offer.
I can’t wait to go on the ride with you.
Special Thanks
WA Youth Theatre Company
Mararo Wangai
Briannah Davis
Zoe Garciano
Lilian Tran
Stella Finn
Simonne Matthews
Gita Bezard
Ella Heatherington
City of Cockburn - Hamilton Hill Memorial Hall
e Furniture Repurposing
Creative Team
-
Mohammed ‘Ayo Busari’
Playwright, Creative Producer & Sonic Designer
Mohammed ‘Ayo Busari’ (he/him) is a Nigerian-born, award-winning Creative Producer, Curator, Disability Support Worker, Writer, and Performer. Now based in Boorloo, he holds a BA in Journalism & Media from the University of Hertfordshire and an MArts in Screen Arts from Curtin University. Co-founding The Outsiders theatre group in 2021, Ayo has co-produced, written, and performed at numerous shows, including ’An Evening of African Poetry & Storytelling’ at The Blue Room Theatre (Nominated for Outstanding Overall Design at The Blue Room 2024 Awards). He also performs poetry and live music at festivals, including FRINGE WORLD 2025, Perth Festival 2025, St Kilda Festival 2024 and SXSW Sydney 2024. Ayo serves on the boards of WAYTCo and Regional Arts WA.
-
Harper Nguyen
Director
Harper Nguyen (She/her) is a WAAPA-trained performing artist with a background in writing for stage and screen. Since 2017, Harper has written for independent theatre shows (The Book of Salt, The Hole, All the words I cannot find), which have been successfully mounted to positive critical reception. Writing for the screen, Harper has written short films that have made it into international short film festivals such as the Los Angeles, Austin and Portland Comedy Film Festival, where her films were nominated for Best Dark Comedy and Best international short. Tight Five, a short film co-written by Harper was a finalist in the sydney short film festival. In 2025, Harper directed O.D.E, a text score opera retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and was a shortlisted candidate for Black Swan’s Piggyback Draft Commission.
-
Anja Starkiss
Producer & Stage Manager
Anja Starkiss (she/her) is an independent producer, performer and creative originally from Narrm (Melbourne) and currently based in Boorloo (Perth). Since graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (2023) with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Performance Making), Anja has taken her time to explore many facets of Perth’s arts industry, always following compelling storytelling and collaborative processes.
As Program and Production Coordinator for Blue Joy Theatre Company, Anja is fueled by a passion for supporting artists to tell their stories, prioritising people-first, inclusive and collaborative approaches to programming and process.
-
Lizzy Ellis
Performer (as Ali)
Lizzy (She/Her) is a passionate theatre maker from Boorloo (Perth). She enjoys making theatre that tells important stories and transforms audiences to different worlds. As well as performing, she has an interest in writing and directing, theatre for education, and physical theatre. She has performed and devised for The Hayman Theatre Company and has been involved in Perth’s Fringe Festival. Currently, she is a performer and puppeteer for The Constable Care Foundation.
-
Rebecca Collin
Performer (as Stella)
Rebecca Collin (she/her) was born and raised in Boorloo (Perth) with a lifelong passion for performing and telling stories. Rebecca has a Certificate of Drama and Performance with Honours from the AMEB, trained with the WAYTCo Senior ensemble and studied the Acting, and Screen Performance diplomas at WAAPA. Some of Rebecca’s past Fringe World highlights include starring as a talking fish in the original play Freeze (Songbird Productions, 2022), and winning the Martin Sims award as a performer/devisor in Rest (WAYTCo, 2019), and as an original cast member of Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence (Crash Theatre Co, 2024).
-
Nathan Calvert
Performer (as Jack)
Nathan is a Boorloo-based actor and performance maker, working across theatre, installation art, and music composition. Nathan completed his Bachelor of Performing Arts (Performance Making) in 2021, and in 2022 achieved a first-class Honours from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). As part of his Honours, Nathan conducted a series of performance research workshops culminating in Constellations (2022), a development piece exploring the application of visual and sound-based dramaturgies within a theatre practice. Nathan’s recent credits include Everything Flickers (2023), and ALL BOYS (2024), both presented at The Blue Room Theatre.
-
Megan Mak
Production Designer
Megan Mak (She/Her) is a Chinese-Australian Production Designer, born in Singapore and based in Boorloo (Perth). A Curtin University graduate with a double major in Screen Arts and Theatre Arts, she’s driven by a lifelong love of building worlds—starting at a young age by creating costumes and props for her teddy bears out of Christmas napkins. Megan has since brought her eye for detail to theatre productions, most recently Bruised (2025) by Follow That Cat Productions and Ask (2024) by Third Place Productions. She’s excited to contribute to future productions, expanding her craft and shaping bold, imaginative spaces onstage.
-
Reese Horne
Lighting Designer
Reese Horne (they/them) is an upcoming queer and Aboriginal theatre-maker/performer/director/stage manager/producer. They graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Performance Making) in 2022, and the Aboriginal Performance course in 2024 during which they recieved the Artist Relief Fund Student Endowment. Their interest in exploring how personal and intimate stories translate to theatre experiences is ongoing as they continue to develop their skills whilst creating and supporting the making of truthful and engaging works. Reese is keen to be joining the Blue Room Theatre team in 2026 as Project Officer.
