At the cost of our lives

The Cost of Living puts Indigenous stories at the forefront to showcase the reality of a post-capitalist world

The Cost of Living dress rehearsal on Jan. 27. Courtesy Niyayesh Golestani

Standing upright in the middle of the stage, with vines draped across its head, is a large wooden balancing scale. 

The figure of the Jess-ter paces the stage back and forth, placing small objects at the centre of the stage, visible for the audience to see. 

At the bottom of the scale lies several jars of soil, scattered round the front. A small crowd sits around this scale, waiting eagerly for the show to begin. 

The Cost of Living was performed on Jan. 30 by The Sky is the Limit Theatre (TSLT) at Aux Angles Ronds coffee shop. The play features the Jess-ter, an omnipresent figure that questions the characters in the play and the audience regarding the laws and experiences that marginalized groups face in Canada.  

The show opened with performer maddison Litvinenko-Schmitt as they introduced the audience to both the venue and the first performance of the evening. While the audience was still seated in the cafe, Litvinenko-Schmitt introduced the Jess-ter, who arrived prior to the start of the play. 

Jess Beauvais, who portrays the Jess-ter, explained how Indigeneity is incorporated into the play. 

“We are talking a lot about our peoplehood, our nationhood. A lot of that, at least in our conversations, leads into borders, land, nationhood, immigration, migration,” Beauvais said. “When we come together and create these different performances, we kind of look at what’s going on in our lives, but also the current climate in politics.”

The Jan. 30 performance of The Cost of Living wasn’t initially supposed to be the group’s debut. A preview scheduled for Jan.16 was cancelled due to funding cuts. 

TSLT Co-founder Banafsheh Hassani explained how the group put on the show despite the setbacks. Hassani explained that increased cuts at art spaces were among those setbacks.

“The venue that we were supposed to be at, MainLine Theatre, is really like a cornerstone of English theatre in Montreal,” Hassani said. “There are so many funding cuts just on the arts, but also on English arts in Quebec.” 

Director and performer maddison Litvinenko-Schmitt further elaborated on the challenges of accessing funds. 

“It’s really hard to get funding unless you’re a not-for-profit organization in the theatre world,” Litvinenko-Schmitt said. “As far as creating projects from a student artist perspective or from an emerging artist perspective, there is funding available, and again like we’ve already mentioned, in order to get it, you have to be identity-forward and check a bunch of boxes.” 

For Beauvais, the show’s development was greatly connected to these conversations about funding and resource access. Beauvais discussed the importance of observing what it means to be an artist in Montreal. 

“That’s why we came up with the themes and the title of The Cost of Living,” Beauvais said. “Because we are talking about that balance of what we give and what do we take, you know, in order to maintain what we have right now.”

Throughout the performance, moments of reflection emerge. One scene featured a voiceover of a character named Sarah, who shares their own experiences trying to integrate into Quebec society. This character eventually has to leave due to budget cuts with the Francisation classes that allow immigrants to learn French. Each character expresses the challenges of deciding whether or not to stay or leave their communities in search of better opportunities. 

At the end of the play, the actors showcased excerpts from archived interviews featuring Syrian activist Mazen al-Hamada. As the voice of al-Hamada filled the space on a projector, all of the performers lay still on the ground, silent.