Diving into BOYtheatre’s ‘CAMPitalism: Three gays try to fix the economy’.

You can’t say it hasn’t been a thrilling four weeks at London Bubble. So far, we’ve had live cooking, forests that can talk, frankincense, dumplings, language trolls, Eritrean dancing and more. But the time has come for us to ask a very important question: ‘Why can’t we just print more money?!”

In ‘CAMPitalism: Three gays try to fix the economy.’  Kit, Maria, and Cherry of the newly founded BOYtheatre take us to the source of this very question, in a TEDx meets Drag brunch meets Iannucci style social satire.

But how does one pose such a broad question in the face of a world in such an extreme economic situation? I sat down with the three young theatre makers at their ‘round table of gay losers’ (their words, not mine) to find out what audiences can expect in ‘CAMPitalism’.

BOYtheatre: “We’re gonna enter the mind of the enemy, aka these men in suits, and show you why we definitely simply put, can’t print more money…or can we?”

A scooter, abstract self-portraits, and a table so cluttered I can’t set my laptop down on it. The rehearsal space of BOYtheatre is certainly eccentric, and it’s these eccentricities that lend themselves so well to creating a play rooted in the one faucet of life we can’t help but take seriously every day: the economy.

BOYtheatre: “So much of our lives are dictated by rules that have been made up [by] white men in suits. The show exists in three worlds: We’ve got us as BOYtheatre, who’ve said we’re gonna fix the economy, so that’s one world. The other world is the Canary Wharf banking world, and then the other world is these three bankers trying to explain to a room of artists what basic financial terms are, to try to introduce them to the finance industry as the arts industry is failing.”

It was this unspoken rule that we must take the economy seriously that seeped into the personal lives of Maria, Cherry, and Kit, inspiring them during a coffee meeting one day to create a play mocking and exploring the banking world.

Kit: I was on the phone to HMRC sorting out a tax issue. Cherry came and joined and sat with me for about fifteen minutes while I was fighting HMRC, and it led to us having a conversation where we realized there’s so much uncertainty in the unspoken, and we were so interested in making theatre that was funny and had a lightness to it, but tackles topics that are genuinely relevant to us.”

Here’s a fun fact. The title that you see on advertisements for the show is only a small percentage of the full title. What is the full title, you ask?

The hyper-masculine, suited up stereotype of a ‘finance bro’ lends itself so brilliantly to the over-the-top brand of silliness and campness that BOYtheatre have created for ‘CAMPitalism’. All the big themes and questions laid out by the trio are explored and answered in a setting they describe as ‘A TEDx talk meets drag brunch.’

There’s such a charm in pointing out the absurdity of our economic situation outside of the context of the ‘big economical play’ such as ‘The Lehman Trilogy’. An ability to look at the world for what it is but still be able to point and laugh at it lies at the heart of ‘CAMPitalism’.

So finance bros are high-camp. Got it. But what can audiences expect to see while they watch these high-earning ‘alpha males’ clown it out on stage?

BOYtheatre: “Briefcases, Canary Wharf, ties, so many ties, an HR meeting, a dream ballet, the 2008 financial crash, gratuitous drug use, men having breakdowns, the evolution of man from caveman to banker, Pret coffee, and a TED-talk-like lecture on the economy. Also some heartfelt and intimate discussions on what money means to us as young queer people in the arts.”

Clowning and comedy aside, the serious discussion that drives ‘CAMPitalism’ is one that we’re extremely familiar with at London Bubble. The fact is that the arts are seen as a commodity in today’s economic landscape, and the problem is continuing to get worse. One of the only ways we can approach this is to share our own experiences both bravely and honestly, and so while asking them to share their own journeys with the lack of funding in theatre is an intimate question, it’s one that helps us understand why plays like ‘CAMPitalism’ are oh so relevant and needed.

Bubble’s goal with ‘MAKE SPACE!’ is to break down these barriers and literally make space for young and emerging artists to develop and showcase their work, we wanted to hear back from the company on how they’ve found their experience with Bubble so far.

Now the door has opened for BOYtheatre, where will they go next? Well, they have some big ideas, so I’ll let them speak for themselves:

No matter where the future of capitalism or CAMPitalism goes, we feel very fortunate to have hosted BOYtheatre in the run up to their show, potential scooter incidents aside. Thank you to Cherry, Maria and Kit for talking to me at the end of a very busy day, and for sharing some truly interesting ideas with me.

If you’re interested in spicing up the economy, join us and BOYtheatre at 7:30pm at London Bubble. Tickets are free as always, and the building is fully accessible. Doors will open at 7:00!

Thanks again,

London Bubble.

Click here to grab tickets to ‘CAMPitalism’ and to read more about our ‘MAKE SPACE!’ sharings!

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