Have you ever wished you could just walk out of the grocery store, full bags in hand, having not paid a single cent? That’s exactly what Antonia, and hundreds of other fed up wives, have accomplished in Dario Fo’s Low Pay? Don’t Pay!. With a plot which sounds like it could be ripped from the headlines, Low Pay? Don’t Pay! is unfortunately as relevant today as when Fo wrote it in the 70’s. Using a translation by Joseph Farrell, and directed by Isabella Cesari, this production of Low Pay? Don’t Pay! is less of a farce and more of a fiasco.

Low Pay? Don’t Pay! begins with Antonia and her friend Margherita returning from a shopping trip. Antonia regales her with a story of an uprising of people at the grocery store who refused to pay for their groceries given the constant rise in prices. Having to hide the stolen goods not only from her husband, Giovanni, but also from the police begins to become a challenge. Of course the only thing to do is to hide them under their jackets, so suddenly there’s an army of “pregnant” women roaming around their town all having the same idea as to how to hide their stolen goods. Meanwhile the police are considering going on strike, as are the men working in the factories like Giovanni and his best friend (and husband to Margherita) Luigi. As more goods are stolen, more hijinks ensue, and the lies pile up to an absurd level. Yet the ending is rather unsatisfying; it becomes highly didactic, and references this painting which has been on the wall the whole time yet never mentioned before, and then ends abruptly, with an odd surrealist sort of twist.

While I can understand the sentiment behind putting on this particular play in today’s socio-economic environment, it’s in the execution of the production where it begins to fall short. The timing of the play is far too slow given the genre: it’s a farce, and farces are traditionally fast-paced comedies full of laughs. While Low Pay? Don’t Pay! did get a few laughs, it’s hardly what it could have been had the pacing been faster. It has all of the hallmark elements of farce as well: several characters being played by the same actor being mistaken for one another, a cooky premise, lots of lies being spread, everything that makes comedy brilliant. But something is off; the jokes are long with little payoff, the delivery of the jokes wildly varies from actor to actor, and instead of the repeating story lines feeling funny, they feel drawn out and unnecessary. The run time of this production is just under 3 hours, and unfortunately it feels that long as an audience member. Had some of the jokes been shortened (or taken out all together) and the pace significantly tightened, it could be a laugh-riot of a show.

In her director’s notes, Isabella Cesari notes how Low Pay? Don’t Pay! has had lives in three different time periods: “It struck me that if these were issues that spoke to Fo in his time, translator Joseph Farrell in his, and the Alumnae Theatre programming team in theirs, then I didn’t have to decide which of these settings I would embrace – I could go for all of them.” However, instead of creating an interesting patchwork of eras and locales, there is a growing sense of confusion as the play progresses. The set is clearly a 70’s apartment, the table and chairs in particular reinforce the time period. You can hear some of the britishisms which were injected by Farrell come into play, yet no one fully speaks with an accent and it’s never made clear if we’re in the UK, or Italy, or here. Mayor Chow is mentioned by name, and yet that’s the only reference to Toronto that’s made, so it’s feels jarringly out of place. Had the play been clearly set in one of these periods, and then the text adjusted accordingly, it certainly would have helped more of the jokes land and have displayed a more cohesive vision for the production.

Michelle Paré’s Antonia and Eliza Smith’s myriad of characters are the acting highlights of Low Pay? Don’t Pay!. Paré is funny, and genuinely looked like she was making up these wild stories and pseudo-religions off the top of her head. Smith circulates between several characters throughout the play, and each one has its own unique physicality and voice; she got a good portion of the laughs and its easy to see why. Alisa Wilson’s Margherita is sweet and innocent, which makes it all the more amusing as she attempts to keep her hands clean in the whole affair. Ethan Keyes’ Luigi is dynamic and entertaining, the rebel of his relationship with Margherita (whereas Antonia is the rebel in hers with Giovanni). Quaid Lale’s Giovanni was unfortunately very one note, only going from talking loudly to yelling, all with the same slight smirk on his face. The role of Giovanni could be a great one, as he is the most bamboozled throughout the story, but there wasn’t much of that coming from Lale’s performance.

Comedy is difficult at the best of times; we tend to find the same things sad, but everyone finds different things to be funny. There were laughs coming from the audience several times during Low Pay? Don’t Pay!, just none of them from me. This text has great potential, and it’s clear to see why it was programmed, but a more cohesive vision and experienced comedic actors would make this play shine as its meant to. This production at Alumnae Theatre runs until October 6th. For more information and tickets, visit: https://alumnaetheatre.com/low-pay-dont-pay.html

---

Cover Photo: Alisa Wilson and Michelle Paré. Photo by Nick Portenteous.

---

Thank you to my Patrons:

N. Bushnik, B. Kinnon, D. Moyes

And to my supporters who’ve bought me a coffee:

Angelica and Paul, Anonymous, Adrianna, and Caitlin

Would you like to become a Patron? Check out my Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/AViewfromtheBox

Or, you can buy me a coffee at: buymeacoffee.com/aviewfromthebox