As an ex-Investment Manager, this show was a must see for me, as I recall the stressful situations bought on by a stock market crash, and the difficult conversations that I had with clients, when trying to explain why their portfolio valuations had fallen.
Set in the run up to the 2008 financial crash, the chair of the Federal Reserve Timohy Geithner (Ayan Philip) is growing increasingly worried that in a bid to grasp short-term profits, investment companies are forgetting to manage risk, and the sub-prime market may collapse. Soon the Federal Reserve hear that the bubble is indeed bursting, and BNP Paribas are closing three of their sub-prime mortgage funds due to an illiquid market, Bear Stearns a major investment bank collapses and is bought by JP Morgan with the Federal Reserve providing emergency funding. When Lehman Brothers collapsed, the US financial markets collapsed, and the country went into recession.
This fast-paced, high-energy play is excellently played out by this group of three actors, Ayan Philip, Harriet Cantello, and Xavier Atkins. It is essential that they are focused, as the nature of the play written and directed by Esalan Gates, is one that is crammed full of financial terms, and the fact that this is a crisis, means that the people living through the crisis, i.e. the characters within the play; would have been incredibly stressed. The intense pressure on the Federal Reserve, and the US Treasury is portrayed excellently throughout the play with Cantello and Atkins moving between roles seamlessly.
The fact that the irresponsibility of these investment companies, was to affect the American people the most, was something that those making investment decisions at the large investment banks had not considered. Bailing out these investment companies, and the ethics of this is covered in detail within the play, and it is a credit to Gates’ research that the play provides a historical record of this dismal period in financial history.
It is important that we receive a reminder of these financial catastrophes, to ensure that it does not happen again. I hope that this play extends its life beyond Camden Fringe Festival, as it is definitely worth a watch. This play is sounding a claxon, to not let this level of mismanagement happen again.
To find out further information about Codex Theatre, go to – https://esalangates.com/codex-theatre-company/
Reviewer: Caroline Worswick
Reviewed: 23rd August 2025
North West End UK Rating: