It’s the Economy, Stupid!, is currently on the road for its second UK tour having kicked off its run in February following its Edinburgh Fringe success last year. Developed with, and directed by, internationally acclaimed Katharina Reinthaller, the magical and witty production tells the true story of a family caught up in a recession, impacted by the economic conditions that led the world from post – war boom to housing and cost – of – living crises.
Using an old board game, projection-mapping and a sprinkle of magic, Joe Sellman-Leava and Dylan Howells explore how macroeconomic forces can dominate personal lives.
As the tour continues, we caught up with Sellman-Leava to find out more.
Q&A with Joe Sellman Leava
What can you tell us about It’s The Economy, Stupid!?
The show is partly based on a story about a family living through a recession and facing bankruptcy. But it’s also a journey through the economic forces that led to that. Free markets, supply and demand and the housing crisis are brought to life using stage magic and projection mapping. We also wanted the show to be funny and relatable. Economics can feel dry, daunting or off putting to many people, so we’ve created something that’s magical, mischievous and ultimately a great night ou
What was it that inspired the show?
We were inspired by the phrase “It’s the Economy, Stupid” which I’d heard time and again during election cycles. When I looked at where it came from (James Carville – Bill Clinton’s campaign strategist in the 1992 US election), I started thinking about what my family were going through at that time. The 90s recession cost ordinary people their homes and livelihoods – my family included – and I thought there might be a story to tell about macroeconomics seen through the eyes of a few characters. Worklight often make shows where the micro and macro, and the personal and political, collide. The other big gesture was bringing Dylan Howells – who normally designs and operates our shows from the tech box – on stage. In It’s the Economy, Stupid! he’s not only doing several jobs at once (performing, operating, stage managing), he’s also making the normally invisible labour that makes any show possible, much more real and tangible.
Did the show’s Fringe success come as a surprise?
Yes! It was amazing to see so many people coming to the show, and to hear that it resonated with their own experiences, or made them think about money, economics and inequality in new ways. Something that’s unique about Edinburgh Fringe is you never know who might be in your audience – as we were clearing up after the show one day, the economist and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz said hello to us (thankfully he seemed to enjoy it!). The economics of Fringe are interesting too – it’s financially harder and harder to take or see show there (mainly because of the cost of accommodation – which is like a crystallisation of the UK’s rental crisis). And yet it remains one of the best ways to launch new work, to find your audience, and begin touring.
Has the show changed at all between its Edinburgh run and tours?
Yes. We were tweaking and editing well into our first shows at Edinburgh, and there’s an instinctive fine-tuning that happens throughout a run (another reason we love Fringe – you get to perform the same piece 25 times in a row!). As the tour has continued, we’ve continued to refine things, including even more technical wizardry from Dylan.
Is there anything you hope audiences take away from the show?
We’re in a very turbulent time – the crises in housing, cost of living and climate, as well as political instability, are all profoundly linked to the way our economy is structured: particularly the rapid growth of inequality. While a 60-minute show can’t solve this, we hope that by painting a picture of how we got here, and of how we solved comparable (and arguably more challenging) crises in the 1940s and 50s, we can get more people talking about these issues and engaged in trying to solve them. We also really want people to have a good time – to be moved and entertained.
It’s The Economy, Stupid! is on tour until 17 July 2025
