They Don't Pay? We Won't Pay! - Northern Broadsides - Tour

Having watched this tonight at the Liverpool Playhouse, I have to say it really was a fun night out at the theatre from start to finish. There’s plenty of humour - physical and verbal as well as some really terrible puns but the play ultimately delivers a very powerful message by the end about capitalism and the state of the country today.

At the beginning, we got the cast on stage and had a bit of an unexpected sing along for a few minutes preshow. We got the cast playing some instruments and leading the auditorium in a rendition of the Proclaimers “I’m gonna be (500 miles)”. It had absolutely nothing to do with the play itself, but it certainly got everyone in a cheerful mood ready for the main play. Though during the sing along, the cast did say that last week they did the show in Hull with poor attendances and very unenthusiastic audiences. They said they would never go back to Hull!

As for the play itself, I have seen and enjoyed a number of Northern Broadside productions over recent years and found them to be very well produced so I was expecting this to be no different. What we got was a fun filled 2hrs of comedy taking potshots at politicians, bankers, hospitals, Brexit and anything else that could be made into a gag. Now I’m not normally a fan of actors breaking the fourth wall during a play, but in this case it worked really well in helping to deliver the gags and allowing the actors to respond to all the moans and laughs from the quick fire puns.

The cast of 5 worked really well together, though for me the standout cast member was Mike Hugo who had to play 4 different roles during the show. Though the person who got the biggest laugh was in the audience during Act 2. A guy was sat next to a lady. Mike Hugo as a cop asked the lady her name. No response from the lady. So he asked the guy sat next to her for her name. The guys response - “I don’t know. I’m not with her!”.

While it was a very humorous and at times farcical play, what underlined it as previously mentioned was a serious message about capitalism and the impact of the economic crisis on normal working folk and society in general. This was evident in the monolgue delivered at the end by the staunch labour guy Jack which told of the true realities of living in today’s society. This political message maybe a little too preachy for some and maybe more suited to a debating chamber than a theatrical stage, but certainly it was well delivered and got the message across clearly.

Definitely worth watching if you get the chance.