Joe Sellman Leava's IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID! Will Embark on UK Tour

Original Edinburgh Festival Fringe hit, It’s the Economy, Stupid!, is hitting the road for its second UK tour from February 2025. 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. In presenting the deeply personal story of Joe’s family losing their home and livelihood during the recession in the early 90s, It’s the Economy, Stupid! aims to make economics both accessible and entertaining. The show expertly uses the metaphor of a game of Monopoly to deliver its ethical points, demonstrating the effects on Sellman-Leava’s early family life as underpinned by the housing and cost-of-living crises many of us are too familiar with today. 

Named after the phrase coined by James Carville, a strategist for Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, It’s the Economy, Stupid! employs storytelling to uncover the true cost of low financial literacy in a world dominated by money.

Joe Sellman-Leava comments, We did our very best to make the dry topic of economics moving, magical and at times even funny! We loved touring IT'S THE ECONOMY STUPID last year and are thrilled to be back on the road in 2025. With our economy and our politics still volatile, and the interlinked crises of housing, climate, cost-of-living and inequality still rampant, we really hope our story can shed a bit of light and laughter on this complex, thorny subject. 

Tour Dates

1st February Wolverhampton Lit Festival
Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Lichfield Street, Wolverhampton,
Wolverhampton WV1 1DU

https://www.wolvesliteraturefestival.co.uk/ 

6th February Norden Farm Centre for the Arts
Altwood Road,
Maidenhead SL6 4PF

https://norden.farm/ 

8th February Arts Depot
5 Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, North Finchley,
London N12 0GA

https://www.artsdepot.co.uk/ 

13th February The Mill Arts Centre
Spiceball Park Road,
Banbury OX16 5QE

https://www.themillartscentre.co.uk/ 

24th February The Quarry
St Luke's Peter's, 26 St Peters Street,
Bedford MK40 2NN

https://www.quarrytheatre.org.uk/ 

27th – 28th February The Crawley Hawth
Hawth Ave
Crawley RH10 6YZ

https://www.parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/the-hawth 

7th March Helmsley Arts Centre
1, Meeting House Court, Helmsley,
York YO62 5DW

https://www.helmsleyarts.co.uk/ 

10th – 15th March Soho Theatre, London
21 Dean Street,
London W1D 3NE

https://sohotheatre.com/ 

20th March Doncaster CAST
Waterdale,
Doncaster DN1 3BU

https://www.castindoncaster.com/ 

21st March Leeds Carriageworks
Millennium Square, Electric Press 3,
Leeds LS2 3AD

https://www.carriageworkstheatre.co.uk/ 

27th – 28th March HOME Manchester
2 Tony Wilson Place
Manchester M15 4FN

https://homemcr.org/ 

5th April The Spring Arts & Heritage Centre
56 East Street,
Havant PO9 1BS

https://www.thespring.co.uk/ 

17th May The Edge Arts Centre
Much Wenlock
TF13 6NB

http://www.edgeartscentre.co.uk/ 

23rd May FANBOY   The Mill Arts Centre
Spiceball Park Road,
Banbury OX16 5QE

https://www.themillartscentre.co.uk/shows/fanboy/

17th July Live Theatre
27-29 Broad Chare,
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3DQ

https://www.live.org.uk/ 

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