Cost of Living

Martyna Majok’s 2018 Pulitzer Prize winning play Cost of Living had the opening-night audience at Billie Brown Theatre in fits of laughter from the get-go. It wasn’t long however before this play about the many ways in which people physically and emotionally need people was also breaking our hearts.

The story focusses on four people. John, an affluent and accomplished PhD student with cerebral palsy, Jess, a resourceful woman balancing several jobs to make ends meet, Eddie, an out-of-work truck driver, and his ex-wife Ani, who is still adjusting to life in a wheelchair after an accident permanently damaged her spine.

Philip Quast brought a lot of jocularity and charisma to the role of the waggish, playful truckie Eddie. He wore his heart on his sleeve as he tried to break the ice with Ani (Kate Hood). Hood was well cast and believable as the bitter and emotionally broken Ani. We empathised deeply with her fight between a desperate desire for independence and her physical need for daily care.

Dan Daw was powerful and authentic, capturing his character John’s wealth, status, and intellect very well. He was focussed and controlled, showing particularly remarkable chemistry and trust with Zoe de Plevitz as Jess. The fast paced His Girl Friday style banter between the two was very impressive and amusing. De Plevitz was fantastic and didn’t put a foot wrong. She brought a lovely balance of pluck and vulnerability to her role.

Co-Directors Priscilla Jackman and Dan Daw brought us an entertaining, thoughtful, and compassionate rendition of the play. The poignant moments cut deeply, and the laugh out loud moments were the regularly applied salves that the audience needed to bear the pain. 

Set and Costume Designer Michael Scott-Mitchell’s work was clever, adaptable and effective. Special mention for the working shower and claw-foot bubble bath, but also the sliding wall panels which made for fast and satisfying scene changes. Lighting Designer John Rayment kept us focussed on the action and gave us a cool moody noir feeling during some scenes which was really beautiful. The snow special effect and lighting of it was simply magical.

Cost of Living reminded us never to make assumptions about, underestimate or patronise people living with a disability. It was touching and heartwarming but also hilarious, particularly for fans of imaginative swearing and dark humour. It was the sort of play that one leaves with a better understanding the human condition, what makes us tick, and how important love and community and connection is to our very survival.

Kitty Goodall

Images (from top): L-R Kate Hood as Ani and Philip Quast as Eddie; L - R Zoe de Plevitz as Jess and Dan Daw as John; & L- R Philip Quast as Eddie and Zoe de Plevitz as Jess. 

Photography by Morgan Roberts