They Don´t Pay? We Won´t Pay! review - Dario Fo`s food-looting farce updated
(The Guardian Culture News)

York Theatre RoyalRelocated to northern England, this fast-paced panto-esque comedy is damningly relevant nowAfter the 2008 banking crisis, Dario Fo redrafted his 1974 play Can´t Pay? Won´t Pay! Ten years on, both his original tale of fed-up workers nicking groceries and its 21st-century reworking still feel damningly relevant. In a nation of soaring food-bank use and Brexit stockpiling, it´s not hard to imagine a run on the supermarkets.So reviving Fo´s farce is smart programming by Northern Broadsides. Relocated to northern England, They Don´t Pay? We Won´t Pay! attacks a society in which the elites can raid the state coffers and avoid tax while those at the bottom choose between food and fuel. Anthea (Lisa Howard), unable to find work and behind on her rent, joins a crowd of looters at the local Aldi. Back home, she ropes in reluctant neighbour Maggie (Suzanne Ahmet) to hide their stash from the police in a series of increasingly ridiculous schemes. Continue reading...