By allowing the audience to decide how much they will pay for the show, Free Happiness poses a challenge that doubles as an attractive, if somewhat risky, marketing ploy.
On entering the theatre you are given a full refund on the $20 ticket price in $1 coins. Over the course of the 90-minute performance there are opportunities to hand the money back. You can leave the theatre without paying a cent and by participating in various market opportunities it is possible to pocket a profit on the $20 investment.
The concept has the immediate effect of heightening audience involvement and blurs the boundary separating audience and performer.
The show's creators, Nisha Madhan and Stephen Bain, establish a casual vibe that sits somewhere between the hard sell of a dodgy marketing seminar and the ironic poise of a high concept art event.
Beginning with a survey on the kind of ethical conundrums raised in Kendrick Lamar's How Much a Dollar Cost, the audience are marshalled through a series of activities that keep the money circulating.
