Ahead of Can't Pay? Won't Pay! opening this week we spoke with Fenia Gianni, the artistic director of tríada theatre company, about reviving Dario Fo's political farce.
What inspired you to create this show? Why this story?
We chose to continue our stage performances this season with ‘Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay’, a hilarious fast-paced comedy by Nobel prize winner Italian playwright Dario Fo. An adaptation of a classic Italian political farce, paralleling the current cost of living crisis. Our previous production, ‘Death and the Maiden’ by A. Dorfman, was a dark, tense psychological thriller on fascism. We decided to continue our political immersive work, in a positive direction, through comedy. Particularly, the inspiration and aim of our new production is to ‘discuss’ important sociopolitical issues of our times such as poverty, economic crisis and population mental health through the theatrical lens of comedy to allow the audience to experience relief and catharsis through laughing.
What do audiences have to look forward to?
This is a clever, dynamic comedy with a lot of unexpected twists, so expect a lot of laughing! Our goal is to allow the audience to sit back, relax and enjoy themselves, but the same time get sensitised and become more aware of how societal pressures such as high energy prices and cost of living are affecting our neighbours, our families, our relationships and our wellbeing.
Have there been any obstacles in the creation?
It has been an exhilarating and organic creative process! We have a fantastic production team and professional cast that we worked closely with to produce this funny play. As the main topic of the play is poverty, rising prices and ensuing mental health issues, all of us encountered some challenging emotional moments and connected with past personal experiences, that at the end however enriched our characters and storytelling.
What inspired you to create this show? Why this story?
We chose to continue our stage performances this season with ‘Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay’, a hilarious fast-paced comedy by Nobel prize winner Italian playwright Dario Fo. An adaptation of a classic Italian political farce, paralleling the current cost of living crisis. Our previous production, ‘Death and the Maiden’ by A. Dorfman, was a dark, tense psychological thriller on fascism. We decided to continue our political immersive work, in a positive direction, through comedy. Particularly, the inspiration and aim of our new production is to ‘discuss’ important sociopolitical issues of our times such as poverty, economic crisis and population mental health through the theatrical lens of comedy to allow the audience to experience relief and catharsis through laughing.
What do audiences have to look forward to?
This is a clever, dynamic comedy with a lot of unexpected twists, so expect a lot of laughing! Our goal is to allow the audience to sit back, relax and enjoy themselves, but the same time get sensitised and become more aware of how societal pressures such as high energy prices and cost of living are affecting our neighbours, our families, our relationships and our wellbeing.
Have there been any obstacles in the creation?
It has been an exhilarating and organic creative process! We have a fantastic production team and professional cast that we worked closely with to produce this funny play. As the main topic of the play is poverty, rising prices and ensuing mental health issues, all of us encountered some challenging emotional moments and connected with past personal experiences, that at the end however enriched our characters and storytelling.
Who are the collaborators on this production?
The play was produced by tríada theatre company and the company producers and artistic directors Fenia Gianni and Simon Hart, in collaboration with our director Sascha Cooper, assistant director John Newcombe, and our fabulous photographer Strat Mastoris and light and sound tech Cliff Dowding.
Who should see this show & why?
Everyone should see this show! It is an opportunity for everyone to come in and have a laugh (actually a lot of laughs) and experience relief and catharsis on social issues that we are all dealing with at the moment, such as rising prices and high bills, and the impact that it has on our personal relationships and our communities.
What attracted you to stage this production at The Bread & Roses Theatre?
We have worked with the Bread & Roses Theatre before and we love it’s central role in the community in promoting theatre and performance arts, community inclusion and diversity! Plus we had a wonderful experience working with the theatre’s team last year and it was the first venue that we wanted to book while planning the tour for this production.
What have been the highlights of the process?
The staging of a comedy always has a lot of pluses! From the ‘invention’ of these hilarious characters, the building of comic but also very real relationships, and the development of a story that will touch our audiences hearts! One of the major highlights is the opportunity we have as a cast to interact with our audience in an immersive way, and share some laughs and comedic stories with them during the show, while we ‘discuss’ some very important social issues through the powerful script of the Nobel price winner playwright Dario Fo. Of course one huge benefit that we all received, was and still is the countless laughs that we the actors have, both in the rehearsals and also during the actual performances!
What do you think the future of british fringe theatre looks like and how do the company (or the show) fit into it?
The future of British fringe theatre is certainly the development of local community networks to promote theatre and community inclusion and allow the power of the arts to touch the life of every community member. That is aligned with the mission and values of tríada and the play itself, particularly the promotion of inclusivity, diversity, resilience and collaboration in our communities.
What's next ?
We are in the process of developing a new performance arts hub in the wider London area and South coast of the Uk, to promote and raise awareness on mental health and community inclusion through performance arts and theatre. Our next event ‘Womxn Talking’ on the 20th of May in the Brighton fringe (https://www.brightonfringe.org/events/womxn-talking/) is at the core of this initiative, focusing specifically on women’s mental health and wellbeing via a night of female monologues with a stellar cast of local storytellers, actors, directors and performance artists. At the moment, we are in planning for our next season’s production, which again will have a strong political and social message for our audience in keeping with tríada theatre company’s aims and mission. We look forward to returning to the Bread and Roses theatre later in the next year for more shows!
Can't Pay? Don't Pay! runs 28th & 29th April. Tickets available here.
For more info and collaborations with the company: www.triadatheatre.co.uk
The play was produced by tríada theatre company and the company producers and artistic directors Fenia Gianni and Simon Hart, in collaboration with our director Sascha Cooper, assistant director John Newcombe, and our fabulous photographer Strat Mastoris and light and sound tech Cliff Dowding.
Who should see this show & why?
Everyone should see this show! It is an opportunity for everyone to come in and have a laugh (actually a lot of laughs) and experience relief and catharsis on social issues that we are all dealing with at the moment, such as rising prices and high bills, and the impact that it has on our personal relationships and our communities.
What attracted you to stage this production at The Bread & Roses Theatre?
We have worked with the Bread & Roses Theatre before and we love it’s central role in the community in promoting theatre and performance arts, community inclusion and diversity! Plus we had a wonderful experience working with the theatre’s team last year and it was the first venue that we wanted to book while planning the tour for this production.
What have been the highlights of the process?
The staging of a comedy always has a lot of pluses! From the ‘invention’ of these hilarious characters, the building of comic but also very real relationships, and the development of a story that will touch our audiences hearts! One of the major highlights is the opportunity we have as a cast to interact with our audience in an immersive way, and share some laughs and comedic stories with them during the show, while we ‘discuss’ some very important social issues through the powerful script of the Nobel price winner playwright Dario Fo. Of course one huge benefit that we all received, was and still is the countless laughs that we the actors have, both in the rehearsals and also during the actual performances!
What do you think the future of british fringe theatre looks like and how do the company (or the show) fit into it?
The future of British fringe theatre is certainly the development of local community networks to promote theatre and community inclusion and allow the power of the arts to touch the life of every community member. That is aligned with the mission and values of tríada and the play itself, particularly the promotion of inclusivity, diversity, resilience and collaboration in our communities.
What's next ?
We are in the process of developing a new performance arts hub in the wider London area and South coast of the Uk, to promote and raise awareness on mental health and community inclusion through performance arts and theatre. Our next event ‘Womxn Talking’ on the 20th of May in the Brighton fringe (https://www.brightonfringe.org/events/womxn-talking/) is at the core of this initiative, focusing specifically on women’s mental health and wellbeing via a night of female monologues with a stellar cast of local storytellers, actors, directors and performance artists. At the moment, we are in planning for our next season’s production, which again will have a strong political and social message for our audience in keeping with tríada theatre company’s aims and mission. We look forward to returning to the Bread and Roses theatre later in the next year for more shows!
Can't Pay? Don't Pay! runs 28th & 29th April. Tickets available here.
For more info and collaborations with the company: www.triadatheatre.co.uk
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