REVIEW: CAMPITALISM: Three Gays Try to Fix The Economy, BOY Theatre, EdFringe 2026 ★★★★

Three BOYs are given a near-impossible task: to fix the economy in just under an hour within the confines of a black box theatre. Meet Brian (Kit Miles), Brian (Cherry Eckel) and Brian (Maria Telkinoff), three gung-ho finance bros raring to go, transforming the space into a high-energy, manic conference room as they discuss the quintessentials of economics – because if you can’t beat them, why not join them?

The Brians are the pinnacle of toxic masculinity, satirical caricatures reminiscent of the common Clapham resident or that one regular at a café in the financial district that’d ask for “NORMAL milk, from a cow, moo!” (this one may have been a personal anecdote). As the Brians, the BOYs pull off a series of gags referencing massive financial institutions such as Lloyds Bank, contrasted with their own heartfelt anecdotes from the generational struggle of their immigrant parents, to living through the 2008 financial crisis, to being thrust into a world where it’ll be impossible to be financially stable for our lifetimes.

Through a witty use of props, physical theatre and audiovisual material, Miles, Eckel and Telkinoff’s performance as the Brians was akin to a drag show: that same over-the-top performance of deeply gendered roles to criticise a clearly failing system and those who profit from it. My personal highlights included a scene involving a massive horse head and a money gun while two Brians punched each other up on stage, as well as a scene where one of the Brians is called into HR for, unsurprisingly, workplace misconduct and misogynistic comments.

A conference is never complete without a presentation: as the Brians pranced around the stage, they were often interrupted by videos and audio interviews of well known politicians and economists (like finance bros, but richer and more powerful). I felt that more attention could be drawn to the interjecting clips, which served as a detriment to their comedic aspect as they were a bit lost in the chaos unfolding on stage.

While presented as satirical caricatures, I (slightly begrudgingly) found myself wanting to know more about the Brians: I would have loved to see more of the dynamic between the three, whether taking the form of developing the homoerotic tension between all three of them and its implications, or even a rivalry between Brians (a Heated Brivalry, if you will).

Moreover, though this is very briefly touched on near the end of the performance – where Kit Miles mentions the underpaid employment & mistreatment of women in India to train AI models which will eventually replace them – I would have also loved to see more of a deep dive into the historical exploitation of the Global South, considering that the current success of the capitalistic system is quite largely owed to inhumane working conditions and underpaying workers of colour.

CAMPITALISM is a blast off into the manosphere, where the grindset takes over your body for an hour (and not written by Sally Rooney, just to clarify).

Recommended Drink: A Tesco meal deal Huel, there’s no time for real food in this economy!

You can catch CAMPITALISM: Three Gays Try to Fix The Economy at Pleasance Courtyard (Attic) between August 13-31(Not 17th) at 14:05 (55mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.