The original play, which was written by Fo in 1974 and which is usually translated as Can’t Pay? Won’t Pay! is a comedy about consumer backlash against high prices and is generally considered a Marxist and political farce.
Dario Fo, who died in 2016 in Milan aged 90, received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1997 “for upholding the dignity of the downtrodden”.
No pay? No way! is the new “whip-smart adaptation” of the classic, from ABC TV’s comedy powerhouse Marieke Hardy and starring Helen Thomson, who was described by the Daily Review as “a rare comedic talent”.
Prices are out of control – and so is Antonia.
Sick of having barely enough to pay the gas bill, she leads an uprising at a local supermarket that sees a group of angry housewives shoplift ‘til they drop.
With a pile of newly acquired loot, Antonia and her best friend Margherita embark on a ludicrous, laugh-a-minute escapade, keeping their well-meaning but bumbling husbands in the dark and staying three steps ahead of the coppers.
“I didn’t nick it. I liberated it,” Antonia says.
The show is directed by Sarah Giles, with a cast of Catherine Văn-Davies, Glenn Hazeldine, Rahel Romahn and Aaron Tsindos.
Tickets to the show are currently only available as part of a 2020 Season Ticket.
Visit the Sydney Theatre Company’s website for more details.
