Cost of Living

A night in the theatre which surprises, takes you out of your comfort zone, laugh and think is rare all in one play.

Cost of Living does all that – a unique production about the interdependence of people living with disabilities and those who support them.

The play opens with retired lonely truck driver Eddie (Phillip Quast) sending text messages to the phone of his late wife Ani (Kate Hood).

The narrative flashes back to the period in their life when Eddie returned to Ani’s life.

Ani is a wheelchair user with an acquired disability who requires round the clock assistance.  She is bright and witty.

Intertwined with this story is the relationship between John (Dan Daw) a wealthy Harvard educated man with mild cerebral palsy, and a bartender Jess (Zoe de Plevitz) hired to be his caregiver.

Both relationships go beyond physical requirements of looking after someone with impairment. The narrative weaves a tapestry of emotions including lingering affection in the former married couple and companionship in the younger characters.

There is a warning of full-frontal nudity as you enter the theatre which comes to fruition in a shower scene.

The co-director and actor Dan Daw has a charismatic presence on stage. His background as a dancer, with taught muscles covered in tattoos makes for a striking vision. Daw leads a disabled-led company - which blends theatre and dance – that has toured extensively to Europe and United States.

As the co-director Priscilla Jackman wrote in the program – it is as if the play (which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2018) was written for him.

A fascinating part of the dynamic between John and Jess is that although she is the caregiver, he ultimately wields power over their relationship.

The set is sparse – comprising walls which move back and forth and the entrance of minimal items such as a bathtub. It allows for accessible access and a surprise at the end involving the weather.

Cost of Living is an intriguing and through-provoking night in the theatre.

David Spicer

Photographer: Morgan Roberts