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A lot of potential in this depiction of a ‘get rich quick’ scheme and its inevitable fallout.Summary
Rating
Good
It’s an interesting time for Cryptocurrency. Following the US Election, Bitcoin has surged to record highs. Back in 2021, it was starting to rocket– to head ‘towards the moon’, as the lingo would have it. Manny (Kieran Taylor-Ford) schemes, selling designer goods seemingly unaware they are at knock down prices as the genuine handbags he is selling… well they aren’t so genuine.
His friend, Abdul (Hassan Najib), trades bitcoin and has turned a small amount of money into a lot more. Abdul is hooked. When Manny is out of cash, and with loan sharks chasing him, he desperately turns to Abdul and puts everything he has into Bitcoin. After a small success, they become more invested emotionally and financially, joining the DGX exchange where they trade and promote Bitcoin.
Ah, the dream of bitcoin! Within a short time, Manny moves out of his mother’s house and lives the highlife in a Canary Wharf penthouse. Abdul drives a Lamborghini. Is it too good to be true? Is Bitcoin a ‘get rich quick’ scheme where you can actually get rich?
One of the subplots is Markos (Ery Nzaramba), who’s dating Manny’s mum, Fevan (Alma Eno). He’s a calm, steady presence in the middle of all the madness, and his story quietly grows in the background, adding a lot of heart to the play. As the night goes on, Markos sneaks up as the emotional core of everything. Nzaramba grows with the role: he really steps up, giving the character an understated warmth that resonates.
The role of Devlin, head of DGX, is played by a rotating series of guest stars. This evening, Jamael Westman absolutely nails the charisma of a snake oil salesman. He plays to the crowd with ease, and it is easy to see how people could be lured in. His pitch is slick, believable, and targeted at the vulnerabilities and frustrations of the community – a seductive trap that feels all too real and within your grasp.
Inevitably, it all comes crashing down. The DGX exchange – a stand-in for so many crypto collapses – turns out to be a scam. Manny and Abdul have pulled in their whole community, who lose everything when the system collapses. Dreams vanish as numbers on a screen drop and drop and leave nothing but angry and betrayed friends and neighbours.
The direction often feels straight forward, with only occasional nods to the audience on the sides. The normally unobtrusive pillars block the view of the video screens, and Gino Ricardo Green‘s design uses Bitcoin prices and graphs to good effect, showing the small investment growing and underlining the money that these two young men now have, albeit temporarily.
Beru Tessema’s script feels like it’s juggling two big themes: the possibilities of cryptocurrency and the family dynamics at the heart of the story. There’s some fascinating commentary on the anti-establishment aspects of crypto—particularly its appeal to communities that are often underserved by traditional financial systems. Devlin’s speech touches on the steep costs of sending money internationally – such as the fees charged by Western Union, which clearly strikes a nerve with some in the audience – and how cryptocurrency offers an alternative.
The balance between the personal and the political feels uneven. It leaves both stories feeling slightly shallow and a wish that there was further focus and development on one story further. There are a lot of laughs between Manny and Abdul, and the emergence of Markos’s story really strikes a chord with the audience, leaving this as a good evening but one with a lot more potential.
Written by: Beru Tessema
Directed by: Daniel Bailey
Set and Costume Design by: Amelia Jane Hankin
Video Design by: Gino Ricardo Green
Wolves On Road plays at Bush Theatre until 21st December. Further information and tickets can be found here.
