The Leisure Society: Francois Archambault

The Leisure Society: Francois Archambault

Peter and Mary are unhappy. But they don’t know it yet. They work long hours. They invest their money for a retirement they will probably never enjoy. They buy things that are supposed to make them happy but that they never use. They obsess about the nightmare engines of Western economic growth: make more, earn more, have more.

Bringing a child into this frightening world fuelled by instant gratification; wanting to have some time and space for themselves so they can continue to grow and develop; or dedicating time to deepen the bonds between their friends; all seem like colossal tasks. Even worse, they seem like acts of resistance—one could even say betrayal—against a system that requires everyone to be active, productive and consuming.

But in this dark and thoroughly contemporary comedy echoing The Wastemakers of the 1950s, is it too late for such unthinkable acts of defiance?