Review: Epic Economics: What Would You Protest About Today?, Paradise in the Vault

Economics and theatre don’t seem like natural bedfellows but Dimis Michaelides cleverly introduces audiences to the “dismal science” through an entertaining theatre-lecture in Epic Economics: What Would You Protest About Today?  

This tiny show, held at The Annexe at Paradise in the Vault, hidden beneath the historic Augustine United Church, feels less like a fringe performance and more like a private TedX talk or salon, convened by a host who happens to have John Maynard Keynes, Adam Smith and Daniel Kahneman as his guests. 

Michaelides, a veteran of the London School of Economics (LSE), the World Bank, and corporate C-suite, brings legitimacy and the firm opinions of someone who has experienced the global systems he’s describing. Thankfully, he doesn’t hide behind jargon or theory in Epic Economics – no MBAs or LSE degrees are required to enjoy the show. 

Instead, this charming little play deconstructs heavy concepts gently in an easy-to-digest manner, weaving soundbites from some of the world’s best-known economists like Piketty and Friedman, in with live music, magic, stories and audience participation. Michaelides is a genial educator and a charismatic performer and Lia Haraki’s tightly paced direction and dramaturgy turn ordinary moments, such as breakfast, into a commentary on the global supply chain and what creates value in the modern world. 

For the more well-versed, the show might come across as too simplistic and one-note, and they may struggle to find the “epic” in Epic Economics. For newcomers, however, Epic Economics makes visible the invisible threads that connect the world; an enlightening whistlestop tour through different schools of economic thought, made more relatable by the humorous stories and protest songs peppered throughout. Michaelides has got a fantastic singing voice, to boot.

We learn that Michaelides was something of a rebel in his student days at the height of counterculture activism in the 1970s, though largely, he admits, because he had his eyes on an attractive girl. He, like the other protestors, eventually settled into life as esteemed members of the establishment. In his older years, though, Michaelidis returns to his roots in activism, this time with first-hand experience of late-stage capitalism and its discontents. 

While the piece occasionally meanders, the ideas circle back to the importance of speaking up in an unfair world. The production ends on a lively note: audiences are invited to write protest messages on cardboard placards and share them with the room, transforming audiences from passive viewers into active participants staging a micro-revolution from within the confines of the tiny theatre. Epic Economics doesn’t just educate audiences about free markets and wealth distribution, but asks more deeply what one should do about its inequalities. Fittingly, stepping out onto the Royal Mile minutes later, I passed Adam Smith’s statue, a monument I’d walked by hundreds of times without ever really stopping to think about his influence. 

If you want to stick it to the man, Epic Economics might just be the show for you. 

Who knew that economics could make for such enjoyable theatre? 

Written and performed by: Dimis Michaelides
Direction, Dramaturgy and Lighting Design: Lia Haraki
Sound Design and Music: Elias Vasnic
Photography: Boyana Loizou
Graphic Design: Despina Kannaourou

Epic Economics: What Would You Protest About Today? plays at the Annexe at Paradise in the Vault, Edinburgh Fringe, until Sunday 30 August.