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Entertainment
May 10, 2026
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Bullyache: A Good Man Is Hard to Find – A Grim Reckoning for the Banking Elite

AI Summary
Bullyache's latest production, *A Good Man Is Hard to Find*, offers a visceral, darkly surreal critique of the 2008 financial crisis and the 'banking bros' responsible for it. Through a mix of industrial imagery, classical music, and gameshow elements, the piece explores the rituals of power and guilt at the Bohemian Club. While the atmosphere is masterful, the show struggles to find specific personal narratives to make its political point truly sting.

The Bleakest Office Party: A New Critique of Financial Power

Bullyache's new piece, A Good Man Is Hard to Find, opens with a scene that feels like the aftermath of the bleakest office party imaginable. The stage is dominated by a giant boardroom table, featuring a naked man on the floor, another with trousers around his ankles, and someone urinating into a whisky glass. This visceral imagery sets the tone for a production that uses dance theatre to deconstruct the toxic masculinity and arrogance of the financial elite.

The show is not merely a performance; it is a commentary on the 2008 global economic crisis. The set design, featuring a wall of broken glass, symbolizes the shattered economy and the people who drove the truck through it. The narrative follows these 'wasted cretins' as they face a surreal, less glossy version of the TV show Industry, turning their fate into a menacing game of power and domination.

From Bohemian Club Rituals to Gameshow Domination

While the opening is chaotic, the piece takes a sharp narrative turn halfway through, transforming into a gameshow that explicitly identifies the characters as the bankers responsible for the financial meltdown. The creative duo, Courtney Deyn and Jacob Samuel, draw inspiration from the secretive Bohemian Club, a gathering of rich and powerful men known for rituals like the 'cremation of care,' which the show interprets as an absolution of guilt.

  • Setting: Sadler's Wells East, London (until 9 May)
  • Music: Original scores by Bullyache, featuring Shostakovich's chamber symphony in C minor
  • Themes: Power, domination, and the 'cremation of care'

The Atmosphere of Guilt and Loneliness

The atmosphere-making in the production is described as masterful, if depressing. The soundscapes are cranium-shaking, blending classical leaps with Latin American swivel and punchy folk dance. The inclusion of quasi-religious imagery and a cleaner singing Ave Maria amidst the body fluids adds a layer of dark irony and spiritual desolation.

However, the review notes that the piece is reaching for something bigger. While the critique of the 'banking bro' archetype is clear, the show lacks specific personal stories. The political message is somewhat generic ('big bankers bad') and would benefit from more concrete details about the characters' lives and the long-term ramifications of their actions.

Future of Political Dance Theatre

Bullyache has demonstrated brilliant ambition with this production, successfully creating a world that is unpredictable and intense. However, the lack of specific narrative depth suggests that for this genre of political dance theatre to truly resonate, creators must move beyond archetypes and provide the 'sting' necessary to make the audience feel the consequences of the financial crisis on a human level.