Daniel Bye takes us on an elaborate journey of ‘high cultural value’ in The Price of Everything. Thankfully he details the premise of the show for us, outlining it as a quest to put a price on things that hold no market value. It was a good thing Bye is forthcoming with his intentions since they gave us a vague idea of where he was going with his whirling argument.
Bye commences his lecture performance with a warning that what is in store will be an hour of hard work with numbers and figures. Arguably, the hard work had nothing to do with statistics but more trying to get a grip on his amusingly muddled ravings.
Perhaps the best way to enjoy Bye’s dizzying performance is to see it as two shows in one. In the first part he playfully produces some mind boggling facts on items that most would consider priceless - for example, the price of a woman's ovaries or the accumulative price of the elements found in our body. From the laugher in the audience, it is safe to say the price he sold his imaginary friend on ebay tickled quite a few. The stream of head scratching facts is followed by an optional milk interval. This is the point where we are encouraged to help ourselves to a complimentary glass of milk from the stage.
It is after the interval that they play spins off into a new direction. The bizarre lecture is somewhat sidelined to make room for Bye’s rather bleak and intricate anecdote which essentially critiques society and its attitude towards random acts of kindness. Whilst trying to put a price on a kind gesture, it is concluded that it will always come at a cost. A valuable lesson, you might say.
If you approach The Price of Everything as a two-for-one deal show, you will find that the cost of a ticket is a pretty decent price. Bye gives us an intriguing and comical redefinition of the concept of ‘lecture performances’ since you don’t feel like you are leaving any wiser and you certainly aren’t bored.
