Can't Pay Won't Pay? We Won't Pay!
Inflation had reached an all-time high. Frustration broke the tension as Margherita led a revolt at the local supermarket, and looting gutted the building. Margherita, and her friend Antonia, tried desperately to hide their ‘liberated’ goods before their husbands and the police caught up with them. We Can’t Pay? We Won’t Pay! was a wild farce that would not only show you how to survive on a diet of dog food and bird seed but would also ensure a good night out.
We Can’t Pay? We Won’t Pay! was the UK’s first ever production of a Dario Fo play and transferred to the West End’s Criterion Theatre.
Frances de la Tour talks about performing in Dario Fo’s We Can’t Pay? We Won’t Pay! at Half Moon Theatre on Alie Street and reflects upon how much she enjoyed playing the comic style of the piece. Interviewed by Khalilah Lubega.
Denis Lawson talks about the production, We Can’t Pay? We Won’t Pay! at Half Moon Theatre on Alie Street. He remembers one performance where the comedy was overshadowed by an accident on stage. Interviewed by Kavanna Joyett.
Rob Walker was Artistic Director of Half Moon Theatre in the later 1970s and early 1980s in Alie Street and on the Mile End Road. He talks about We Can’t Pay? We Won’t Pay! and how he drove to Italy to get the rights for the play.
Loesje Sanders, the Administrator at Half Moon Theatre, remembers the first time the company put on We Can’t Pay? We Won’t Pay!, a play by the Italian playwright Dario Fo. This was the first time any of his work had been performed in the UK. Interviewed by Rosie Vincent.
Peter Bensted talks about translating We Can’t Pay? We Won’t Pay! which he thinks didn’t encourage people to steal food, but then he did get picked up by the police and put into a cell for 8 hours! He also talks about how Half Moon informed his global perspective and is still important in his work today in Denmark. Interviewed by Beccy Allen.
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