‘Cost of Living’: A powerful, empathetic production

After the play, I was talking to a doctor who had been working in the emergency department of a major hospital for years. He understood discrimination as a gay person, and remarked, “This kind of show would never have been staged in Sydney 30 years ago”.

Don’t be fooled by the title of Cost of Living. It has little to do with economics and finances, and more to do with the major challenges some of us face as physically disabled, or just suffering the blows of life along the way. In fact, wealth is no protection against the hand dealt out by genetics or accidents.

John (played by dancer Dan Daw) is a wealthy, Harvard-educated man who suffers from cerebral palsy. He hires the young Princeton-educated woman Jess (Zoe de Plevitz) to be his carer. She is down on her luck, and even a Princeton education doesn’t shield her from having to sleep in her car.

In a parallel story, middle-aged Ani (Kate Hood) has become a quadriplegic after an accident later in life and requires 24/7 care. When her retired truck-driver ex-husband Eddie (Philip Quast) steps in to look after her, their bickering resumes.

Despite the grievances and frustrations of all four characters, co-directors Priscilla Jackman (RBG: Of Many, One) and Dan Daw (The Dan Daw Show and John) draw out the essential humanity and tenderness of each of them. It is this essential empathy – and humour – of the work that won Martyna Majok a Pulitzer Prize for this play, which is a co-pro between the STC and Queensland Theatre.

The set by Michael Scott-Mitchell is minimal, with sliding walls that can be reconfigured for different scenes. Lighting designer John Rayment illuminates the interiors with subtlety, and composer Guy Webster creates a wonderfully apposite sound design.

Dan Daw says: “It is quite a monumental thing, as a disabled artist, to be even working on a play for an Australian state theatre company. It feels like a total game-changer to be working alongside this extraordinary teams of artists to bring a story like this to Australian audiences”.

Certainly, the audience was most appreciative of this work judging by its reaction on the day I attended the show.

Cost of Living by Martyna Majok
Sydney Theatre Company, Wharf 1 until 18 August
https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/whats-on/productions/2024/cost-of-living