They Don’t Pay? We Won’t Pay!

By Dario Fo and Franca Rame

Adapted by Deborah McAndrew

Fri 17 – Fri 31 Mar

The cost of living is out of control – and so is Anthea. Sick of scrimping and scraping to pay her energy bills, she starts a riot in the local supermarket resulting in a group of raging housewives looting the building.

Now, with a pile of freshly “liberated” groceries, Anthea and her best friend Maggie embark on a ludicrous, laugh-a-minute adventure, trying to keep their law-abiding husbands in the dark whilst staying two steps ahead of the crime squad.

They Don’t Pay? We Won’t Pay! is the work of Dario Fo, Nobel Laureate and the master of farce. Deborah McAndrew’s whipsmart adaptation mixes political satire, hilarious plot twists and wise-cracking dialogue to create a thrilling play about the lengths people will go to when they’re desperate.

This hilarious yet timely play will be brought to life by the Mercury’s Creative Director, Ryan McBryde (Baskerville, The Comedy of Errors, Oliver!)

Reviews for Deborah McAndrew’s script

‘Fast, furious and very funny, this is farce with a fire in its belly’ The Times

‘A farce for our times’ The Observer ★★★★

Thu 23 Mar 2:30pm Relaxed

Tue 28 Mar 7:30pm Post-show Q+A

Thu 30 Mar 1pm Touch Tour

Thu 30 Mar 2:30pm Audio Described

Thu 30 Mar 7:30pm Captioned

Comedy Play

See website for times

Prices from £15

Concessions available

Standby tickets available for £5 when purchased on the day after 4pm

Age guidance 14+

We will be holding charity collections for Colchester Food Bank after all performances of They Don’t Pay? We Won’t Pay! and we encourage our audience members to donate non-perishable food items at our Food Bank drop-off point in our Box Office when they visit for the show.

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