A Toronto theatre company has produced a musical parody in support of the Loblaw boycott happening throughout May.
Inspired by the 2012 French musical Les Misérables, Opera theatre company Opera Revue has created “Les MisérLoblaws,” a song about the grocery giant’s rising food prices and its growing monopoly.
“Shrinkflation. Skimpflation. Greedflation. Protest nouns we never heard before food prices started rising and Loblaws started raking in the profits at the public’s expense. The public has something to say about this. And now, so does Opera Revue,” a release by the theatre reads.
The musical number is set to the tune of “At the End of the Day” from Les Misérables with original lyrics by Alexander Hajek, and performed by Hajek, Danie Friesen, Claire Elise Harris and Gregory Finney.
“We chose the music of Les Miserables to “parody” because the anger, starvation, and desperation that existed in revolutionary France is becoming an all too familiar scene here in Canada,” the release said.
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In an interview with Now Toronto, Friesen who is also the Opera Revue Founder, says it is not the theatre’s first time creating musical performances centered on social issues.
“…Part of what we do as a company is a lot of socio-economical parodies. We’ve done something on the TTC, we’ve done something on the Toronto housing crisis…So, I saw this as an opportunity for us to add our voices for an important cause and get people a bit rallied while also adding some entertainment and giving people something to laugh or smile at,” she said.
Much like their other parodies, Friesen says the main goal of their song is to raise awareness and encourage support for the Loblaw boycott in a humorous way.
“The number goes through all the ways that Loblaw has been making it difficult for Canadians to afford food, right back to when there was the bread fixing scandal ages ago and now, looking at the amount of money the company is making, the compensation that their CEO is making, compared to one in 10 Canadians who are currently using a food bank. It’s sad,” she explained.
“…The final verse is a rally where it’s basically ‘hey, here’s what we can do about it.’ You can join the boycott. You can raise your voice, you can write your MP a letter and make this an issue that they have to address,” she continued.
The Loblaw boycott begins today and thousands are expected to protest Loblaw and its establishments over its increasing prices and to pressure them to lower its costs by 15 per cent and remove member-only pricing policies.
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In addition, a petition was also created demanding the federal government to formally investigate Loblaw Companies Ltd.
“Les MisérLoblaws” is available now on Opera Revue’s social media channels.
