What would you do if you were struggling to afford to pay your rent, gas, and electricity bills, only to discover that you’ve been priced out of paying for basic groceries too? When the quick-witted Antonia (the prolific actor Mandy McElhinney – who, yes, is also “Rhonda” from those insurance ads) and her fellow weary housewives discover that prices at the local supermarket have doubled overnight, their shopping run erupts into a revolt.
The women begin to loot – or, as Antonia would describe it, “liberate” – food off the shelves. When the excitement is over, Antonia finds herself back home with a random assortment of fruits and vegetables, dog food (she doesn’t own a dog), canary pellets (she doesn’t own a canary) and rabbit heads. She enlists the help of her neighbour Margherita (Emma Harvie) to hide the stolen goods from her moralist husband Giovanni (Glenn Hazeldine), a staunch unionist who’s a stickler for rules and due process. The supermarket riot sets a ripple effect of absurdity in motion, ranging from a briny phantom pregnancy with added “womb olives”, to an unconscious cop with a flatulence problem – and that’s just the highlights.
...simultaneously leaves you wheezing from laughter and slightly deaf from the roars of others
No Pay? No Way! is two hours and twenty minutes of comedic gold. Marieke Hardy’s laugh-out-loud political satire initially premiered with Sydney Theatre Company in February 2020, before it was plagued by lockdowns. But with the way that the cost of living crisis has progressed in that short time, this return season at the Sydney Opera House’s Drama Theatre packs an even more relevant punch.
Adapted from Dario Fo and France Rame’s 1974 farce Non Si Paga! Non Si Paga! (commonly given the English title Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay!), the play centers on the rising cost of living (a not-so-foreign experience for many of us, unfortunately). Providing a paradoxically blunt yet nuanced exploration of the plight of the working class, it simultaneously leaves you wheezing from laughter and slightly deaf from the roars of others.
The stage is transformed into a lived-in, suburban apartment block, and Charles Davis’ set design is meticulously detailed. The building’s ageing stone contrasts with Paul Jackson’s perfectly-simulated domestic lighting inside the apartments, drawing your attention to archetypical Sicilian floral pots and pans. It all sets up the picture-perfect image of small-town Italy. Inside, we discover a stereotypical 1970s Italian home: a string of garlic hung in the kitchen, Catholic iconography, and of course, Nonna’s signature flowery fleece blankets (aka the “ethnic blanket”). Whilst the set design enforces the Italian setting, the deployment of heavy Australian accents hinders the realism of that. (Perhaps we’re actually supposed to be in Leichhardt?) While the decision to use local accents highlights the relevance of this 50-year-old play about a cost of living crisis in Italy to the present-day Sydney audience, it comes at the cost of undercutting the authentic Italian atmosphere that Davis has carefully constructed.
A standout feature of this show is undoubtedly the exceptional chemistry among the ensemble cast – the actors’ impeccable delivery keeps the audience laughing through the whole performance. Despite the rapid pace and dialogue, the cast is able to uphold an unwavering stamina that consistently meets the demanding energy and physical vigour demanded of them. Harvie’s role as the anxious Margherita crescendos in an unforgettable performance in her impassioned prayer to (the definitely not made up) “Saint Eulalia”; and as Giovanni, Hazeldine’s pantomime skills have parallels to an Everybody Loves Raymond-style sitcom performance.
A special mention must also be made to Aaron Tsindos (A Fool In Love) in his “layered” roles as Sergeant, Inspector, Undertaker and Old Man. Tsindos is a breath of fresh air every time he is on stage – he takes these seemingly secondary roles and transforms them into the highlight of the performance with perfect comedic timing, and what appears to be a genuine enjoyment of the roles he is playing.
Where the production falters is in the pacing of the story, which oscillates between languid and frenetic in what can only be described as “storytelling whiplash”. The slow progression in setting up the plot and, at times, the heavy reliance on dialogue to push the story, abruptly gives way to rapid, albeit hilarious sequences which can leave the audience feeling disorientated, struggling to keep up with the pace of the story.
However, what the show lacks in pacing, it compensates for with its meta-critical storytelling. Director Sarah Giles (The Importance of Being Earnest) breaks the fourth wall with dark irony, forcing a certain portion of the regular STC audience to confront their complicity in perpetuating economic hardship and poverty (vacant investment properties, anyone?). For all its farce theatrics, this performance becomes a mirror which reflects our own reality – a new generation outspokenly disenchanted with the government (sorry Millennials, but Gen Z are the ones truly sticking it to the man there) and ongoing union disputes (brace for the performance to be interrupted when an essential workforce abruptly goes on strike!). The question then becomes: will the ending of this play be reflected in our own government, and our own people?
No Pay? No Way! is a fantastic political performance filled with humour, fun and eerily relevant commentary. While it may take a little warming up to truly lift off, this show is truly a rollercoaster in theatrical form. Do not miss out on this wild ride!
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox.
