Reviews and Press
Scotsman Review | ★★★★
It’s hardly surprising to see capitalism under fire on this year’s Fringe. Righteous Money, however, written and performed by Michael Yates Crowley, offers up a particularly sharp satire… Full of wit and with a fantastic undercurrent of dark humour, Righteous Money has important things to say, both about the financial system we rely on and the values of the society that spawned it. Full review.
What’s On Stage Review | ★★★★
CJ, the baby-faced host of low-budget cable TV show-within-a-play, Righteous Money, is a nasty piece of work. He has made a lot of cash out of an unscrupulous attitude towards business and hasn’t been afraid to screw over anyone happening to be standing in his way. His unique blend of misogyny and self-delusion is delicious to watch and the format of the show, in which segments of live filming are interspersed with off camera moments of honesty, makes for a well-paced hour. Full review.
METRO Review | ★★★★
Money talks, and so too does TV host and former trader, CJ (Michael Yates Crowley), on his fictional syndicated CNBC show for investors who want to be filthy, stinking rich. Cast as the studio audience, we become silent witnesses to CJ’s sermon on selfishness and the accumulation of wealth. He stares with fiery intent into the camera as he sinks his whitened teeth into the financial doom merchants, decreeing that ‘the recession was an act of God… who doesn’t exist.’ Under the glare of the studio lights, CJ is confident and sexy, plugging his new book and grinning wolfishly that ‘The DOW was up yesterday and that always makes me horny.’ Once the show cuts to a commercial, the cocksure facade drops and we see a man, who has bedded his assistant, Nathan, and is about to pay the price for his carnal desires. ‘He can’t go to the media. I am the media!’ CJ seethes into his mobile phone, eventually confessing that he beds anything with a pulse. Righteous Money is a blackly humorous snapshot of those of a ‘greed is good’ mentality. Crowley, who also wrote the one-man play, delivers a compelling performance, gradually revealing the chinks in Cj’s armour until he is, almost literally, laid bare before us, begging for mercy that we’re not entirely sure he deserves…
What’s on Stage top pick for the Fringe.
New York theatre company Wolf 359 bring their latest show to the Edinburgh Fringe. See here.
“A seductive and poetic tour de force.”
Nachtkritik
“Surprisingly human…shocking and fascinating. Crowley knows what he’s talking about.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung
“Criticism of capitalism is neither whiny nor moralising but simply funny.”
The New York Blade
“Crowley is a witty writer and a precise, committed and sexy performer.”
An interview with playwright Michael Yates Crowley, by the New York Theater Review.
