What is capitalism? Why can’t we just print more money? For someone growing up in the 21st century, these questions almost feel as old as time. BOY Theatre’s Campitalism: Three Gays Try to Fix the Economy grapples with questions like this, alongside critiquing how patriarchal the finance industry continues to be and providing numerous laughs along the way.
Depicted as “TedX talk meets drag brunch meets the Lehman Trilogy,” this performance genuinely understood and explained the problems late-stage capitalism is causing throughout the world, from child poverty to student debt and growing wealth inequalities. By poking fun at the figures behind these issues, it reminded viewers to find the positive in what is a very pressing issue.
As the audience nervously shuffled into a black box theatre, we were greeted with the instruction to don ties, in a very ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ type of move. This allowed viewers to reflect on who and what capitalism strives to protect. The cast of three — Maria Telnikoff, Kit Miles, and Cherry Eckel —achieved this by satirising corporate bosses and politicians, creating a performance which acted as a homage to the queer community and proclaimed a clearly ironic mantra of “don’t be poor.” This broke up the deeply humorous tone of the show, reinforcing how important the show is to the cast, and why it should be just as important to audiences. The cast conveyed how vulnerable they themselves have become at different points in their lives, due to phenomena such as economic immigration and the 2008 financial crisis, grounding their anti-capitalist fears in personal truths.
At times it felt as though BOY Theatre was conflating topics throughout the performance (from student poverty to immigration struggles). In addition, sexuality was sometimes used for a cheap laugh: whilst this is nearly always an easy win at the Fringe, when issues around workplace sexual harassment are brought up in a similar context, it can feel jarring.
The performance also critiqued the under-funding of the arts, whilst at the same time not making it the focal point of the show. I appreciated this as it is an issue that we are all aware of and yet has on occasion been overworked such that it feels cliché to bring up once more. BOY Theatre has also been sponsored by Pleasance Theatre Trust and The Curve, Leicester: not only should this encourage you to give Campitalism a watch, it also demonstrates that when the arts are properly funded, impressive performances can shine.
Campitalism: Three Gays Try to Fix the Economy is running at the Attic, Pleasance Courtyard until 31 August. Buy tickets here.
Image by Alice Gorman, provided to The Student as press material.
