Low Pay? Don't Pay!
Directed by Larry Waller
Original text by Dario Fo
Translated by Joseph Farrell
Produced by Blackwood Players Inc.
MORE ABOUT THE EPISODE - Low Pay? Don't Pay!
This episode of For the Love of Theatre Podcast is hosted by Sophie Waller, featuring interviews with Director, Larry Waller, with Ensemble Lead and Commedia dell'Arte Expert, DR. Corinna Di Niro, alongside Cast Members, Ryan Erlandsen (Giovanni, Yellow Cast) & Simon Lancione (Giovanni, Orange Cast) from Blackwood Players Inc.
MORE ABOUT OUR HOST - Sophie Waller
Sophie Waller began her theatre career with the Royal Shakespeare Company as a casting assistant after graduating with a Drama degree from Aberystwyth University, where she specialised in sound design, engineering, and stage management. While raising her three children in Derbyshire, she acted in amateur productions and was co-director and casting associate at Captive Audience, a youth acting company that prepared young performers for professional roles in theatre, film, and television, including Peaky Blinders, The Thirteenth Tale, and Swallows and Amazons amongst others.
Since 2013, Sophie has worked as a primary teacher in both the UK and Australia and currently leads Performing Arts at Annesley Junior School in Adelaide, directing three musicals annually. She assistant directed All About Eve and The Revlon Girl, has supported front of house and marketing for St Judes Players, and recently appeared on stage in Labour of Love.
SUMMARY
An uproarious new version of Dario Fo's frenetic farce Can't Pay? Won't Pay! which, although set in Italy, has an all too familiar ring to it. Housewives Antonia and Margherita, fed up with high prices in the supermarket, take matters into their own hands and start shoplifting. Keen to keep their light-fingered antics from their husbands, Giovanni and Luigi - not to mention the police - the women are forced to resort to more and more inventive hiding places, and more and more elaborate cover stories, in this legendary comedy. Nobel prize winner Dario Fo is Italy's leading contemporary playwright, renowned for his hilarious satires including Accidental Death of an Anarchist. He has re-written his classic farce Can't Pay? Won't Pay! to take into account the global banking crisis and this translation, by world-leading Fo scholar Joseph Farrell, hints at UK current affairs too, including the credit crunch and MPs' expenses scandal. Although first written in 1970, this updated farce is still very relevant to today's state of affairs.
CAST LIST
YELLOW CAST
Antonia - Annabel Whitford
Maggie - Erin McAllister
Giovanni (Gio) - Ryan Erlandsen
Louie - LA Foale
Ensemble Sergeant - Susan Cilento
Inspector - Laura Tregloan
Undertaker (Chorus) - Ashleigh Merriel
Old Man (Chorus) - Doran Moppert
(Chorus) - Amethyst Mae
Ensemble Leads - Cathy “Di Great” Sheargold
ORANGE CAST
Antonia - Annabel Whitford
Maggie - Olivia Jane Parker
Giovanni (Gio) - Simon Lancione
Louie - LA Foale
Ensemble Sergeant - Susan Cilento
Inspector - Mariusz Klochowicz
Undertaker (Chorus) - Leighara Lawson
Old Man (Chorus) - Wojtek Stec
(Chorus) - Amethyst Mae
Ensemble Leads - Corinna Di Niro
PERFORMANCE DATES & TIMES
3pm Saturday 28th Nov 2026 - with Erin McAllister performing the role of Maggie (Orange Cast).
7.30pm Saturday 28th Nov 2026 - with Erin McAllister performing the role of Maggie (Yellow Cast).
3pm Sunday 29th Nov 2026 - with Erin McAllister performing the role of Maggie (Yellow Cast).
7.30pm Sunday 29th Nov 2026 - with Erin McAllister performing the role of Maggie (Orange Cast).
3pm Saturday 5th Dec 2026 - with Olivia Jane Parker performing the role of Maggie (Orange Cast)
7.30pm Saturday 5th Dec 2026 - with Olivia Jane Parker performing the role of Maggie (Yellow Cast)
3pm Sunday 6th Dec 2026 - with Olivia Jane Parker performing the role of Maggie (Yellow Cast)
7.30pm Sunday 6th Dec 2026 - with Olivia Jane Parker performing the role of Maggie (Orange Cast)
LOCATION
Hawthorn Community Centre
5 Frimley Grove, Hawthorn SA 5062
TICKETS
Trybooking Link Provided Here - https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1645600
https://www.blackwoodplayersinc.com/
THE ITALIAN FESTIVAL
Fast, furious and fiercely funny, Dario Fo’s Low Pay? Don’t Pay! explodes onto the Italian Festival on 22 November.
• Performed in the round with physical comedy, ensemble energy and plenty of Italian theatrical spirit, this is a hilarious, hopeful celebration of resistance, solidarity and people refusing to face hardship alone, together.
• The performance is in English
• Free coffee and cake courtesy of the Avenue Restaurant with a pre-show dinner available
PERFORMANCE DATES & TIMES
3pm Sunday 22nd of November - (Yellow Cast)
7.00pm Sunday 22nd of November - (Orange Cast)
VENUE
Fogolar Furlan Adelaide
69 BRIAR ROAD, FELIXSTOW, 5070
https://fogolaradelaide.com.au/
TICKETS
https://www.trybooking.com/DQCJQ
MORE ABOUT DR. CORINNA DI NIRO'S BOOK
Commedia dell'Arte Reimagined: Contemporary Practice and Pedagogy for a New Generation
NEW BOOK + VIDEO COMPANION is NOW AVAILABLE!!!
If you’ve been looking for a way into the glorious world of Commedia but haven’t been sure which door to unlock first, then this is for you!
“A must-have for drama educators, directors, and actors” (Lisa Brickell, Funny Business, NZ)
https://www.routledge.com/Commedia-dellArte-Reimagined-Contemporary-Practice-and-Pedagogy-for-a-New-Generation/DiNiro/p/book/9781032451916
MUSIC FEATURED IN THIS EPISODE
The Title Track, For the Love of Theatre Podcast by Ben Waller.
Music by Alex Morgan from Pixabay
#BlackwoodPlayers #DarioFo #LowPayDontPay #CommediadellArte