Joe Sellman-Leava is a writer of Anglo-Indian heritage, who grew up on a diet of Roald Dahl books, Beano comics and Nintendo games before studying drama at the University of Exeter, where he co-founded Worklight Theatre. Joe’s solo play – Fanboy – enjoyed a successful run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2022 followed by a short regional t our and a week at the Soho Theatre. His debut solo show Labels won a Scotsman Fringe First in 2015, and has toured extensively in the UK, and abroad where it continued to win awards. Joe has also written extensively for TV animation.
Joe joins us on Close-Up Culture to tell us about his new show, It’s the Economy, Stupid!
Hi! First things first, how are you?
I’m good, thanks for asking! Feeling a little frazzled as we get ready for Fringe, but looking forward to it!
In your own words, can you describe for us what your show is about?
It’s a two – hander about the why economics wins elections, and the cost of that in a wealthy but unequal country like ours. It’s partly based on a true story of my family losing our home and livelihood in the early 90s recession.
And if you were to condense that into three words, what would they be?
Economics means people.
What has preparation for the Fringe looked like for you so far?
We started work on the show in 2023 , but development ramped up early this year, as did the admin, fundraising and logistics! The core creative team – myself, Dylan Howells and Katharina Reinthaller – have spent loads of time researching and developing, and from that I’ve written and rewritten more drafts of the script than I can count! We’ve done lots of work – in – progress shows too, which are always so useful!
What do you want audiences to take away from seeing your show?
That economics is more than maths and money – people are at the heart of it. At its best, economics can be an incredible tool for understanding the world and improving people ’ s lives. But equally it can increase inequality, and perpetuate the housing and climate crises, as we’re seeing now. We’d like audiences to leave feeling galvanised, empowered to demand better from governments .
How did you come up with the concept of your performance?
The phrase originates from James Carville, a strategist for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in 1992. I’ve always been fascinated by it, and thought there might be a show in the politics of economics. When I thought about what was going on for my family, in the UK, in the early 90s, I felt like that would be the beating heart of the story – what does economics look like for a family facing bankruptcy, because of a recession? And what does it cost to always frame elections around economics?
Edinburgh Fringe is certainly an incredibly busy event, what ar e you most looking forward to doing whilst there?
Seeing shows, catching up with friends, hanging out in beer gardens, eating Maki and Ramen, long walks and sea swims!
Where can people catch your show this summer?
Pleasance Dome (Jack Dome), 13.10, from 3 1 st July to 26 th August (not 7th , 14th or 21st ).
And where can people follow your work?
Twitter/ X: @worklight_uk Insta: worklighttheatre Website: worklighttheatre.co.uk
Finally, what would be your dream venue or theatre to perform at?
The Royal Court – there’s so much amazing history, and so many brilliant writers and artists who’ve made work there.
SHOW LINK: pleasance.co.uk/event/its-economy-stupid
TWITTER / X ACCOUNT: @worklight_uk
INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT: worklighttheatre
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