Sydney Theatre Company’s latest production, No Pay? No Way! may have celebrated its golden anniversary but it feels as relevant as ever. This farce about cost-of-living pressures and a healthy distrust of corporate greed could be about modern Australia- except that it took its inspiration from real-life events that occurred in Milan in the 1970s. At least we know, some things will never change.
This show originally debuted in Sydney in 2020 but its run was cut short due to Covid. Here we have Australian writer and broadcaster, Marieke Hardy adapting a play originally written in Italian by a Nobel prize-winner and satirical mastermind, Daniel Fo and his spouse, Franca Rame. Sarah Giles who previously directed Fo’s Accidental Death of An Anarchist fashions a lively and fun comedy that will appeal to the masses, rich and poor alike.
Mandy McElhinney (The Tempest) stars as the plucky, fast-talking Antoinette. She’s loud and proud about having participated in a riot at the local supermarket. The prices had doubled overnight and the locals revolted by liberating various foodstuffs for their hungry families. Antoinette enlists the help of an accidental partner in crime, her dowdy friend, Margherita, (Emma Harvie) who proves a perfect foil.
Antoinette scrambles around with her bestie to try to hide the stolen loot from their hapless husbands, Giovanni (Glenn Hazeldine Cosi) and Luigi (Roman Delo). Giovanni is a staunch unionist and a decent fella who is likely to dob in his wife for her crimes. The ladies hide the goods by using a fake pregnancy or two and the laughs ensue.
Aaron Tsindos is excellent playing multiple roles including a Carabinieri, Polizia, undertaker, and Margherita’s father. He has perfect coming timing and there are moments where his performance would make John Cleese proud. He also delivers a funny monologue in the second act where he breaks the fourth wall in what proves to be a highlight of the second half. The second act is much more slapstick and physical in its comedy (think The Play That Goes Wrong decades before its inception), while the first act is far sharper and wittier (even when it involves two men and some dog food!)
The production’s design team deserve some big props for making such an authentic looking housing estate. Charles Davis’ set looks just like your nonna’s old house. The costumes burst with colour and are an appropriate style and vintage. Paul Jackson does an excellent job of lighting this play through all the hijinks.
This production culminates in a singsong which is also an Italian protest song called, “Bella Ciao.” It’s a hopeful crescendo where the workers unite. The inclusion of this also works well with the play’s Italian roots. This production seems to straddle the lines between Little Italy and good ol’Australia in a marriage of two cultures that works even when things seem a tad blurred.
No Pay? No Way! is a hilarious look at the solidarity of the working poor. It’s a play that feels very prescient in 2024, and is one that will entertain people with its bold messages and colourful production values. This show marries together feigned pregnancy, unwanted petfood, and liberated coffins AKA a bunch of random pieces that come together with spectacularly funny results.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Reviewer attended 13th April, 2024.
No Pay? No Way! Plays at the Sydney Opera House’s Drama Theatre until May 11. To book tickets head HERE.
Header image credit: Daniel Boud
