Review: THE MONEY, County Hall

The boundaries of immersive theatre have always been fairly blurry in London. From shows that happen around a crowd rather than on a stage to properly participatory ones, the label started to be linked to the inclusion of the audience in some way or another. Well, The Money doesn't really subscribe to these conventions.

Held at London County Hall, previously home to Witness for the Prosecution (as it will be again), this is a one-of-a-kind concept that's truly different at each performance, a social experiment more than anything else. The idea is simple enough: a group of audience members, the Players, are given a certain amount of cash (the real kind, there's nothing fake in this production) and need to decide what to do with it in 60 minutes. The Silent Witnesses in the public watch as the Players argue and come to a unanimous decision. If the Players don't agree, the money passes on to the next congregation.

Two actors bring in the funds and distribute the tools: a leaflet with the rules (they can't donate the cash to a charity or split it), a contract to sign in case they deliver, a bell, and the dosh itself. After that, they step back and give full agency to the crowd, only intervening to police them and to evaluate the signed contract at the end (if that applies). Once the timer starts, Players and Silent Witnesses are left to their own devices.

Our version saw the participants starting off with silly ideas to use their allotted £200. But thoughts of gambling it and investing it on a nice dinner gave way to the notion of pitching in for a member's daughter's wedding before they started to settle on making sure the capital was going to a good purpose.

A discussion on the definition of charity and charitable contributions began, leading to the breakdown of the meaning of the value of money. The pleasantries ended quickly, and it was starting to look as if they weren't going to agree any time soon. Who deserved it? Someone sleeping rough outside the venue? A young woman who'd experienced Covid-related issues with her wedding? A grander cause?

Then, an expected turn of events. Suddenly, 12-year-old Eady came down to the witness stands, paid her share (as it is the production asks for a minimum of £20 to join the Players), and told her story. All the grown-ups stared in silence as the tween's shaky voice described how even though she was the winner of a grant to attend a ballet school, she'd been dancing with broken pointe shoes for months because she couldn't afford a new pair.

For a moment, everyone's hearts melted at the sight, though not for long. The adults went back to discussing the quality of deserving the money, asking the girl to prove that she was "a worthy cause" and merited it more than a homeless person. It's safe to say that they were making fools of themselves disputing her working-class background until another Silent Witness decided to join in and absolutely slayed the crowd.

With an inspiring speech on being blind to the needs right in front of us, she turned the house upside-down and politely shamed all the participants for considering giving to a stranger instead of to the young dancer. They all came to their senses and concurred that it's easy to get caught up in the worthiness of different ends. They should have taken stock of the people in the room before focusing on grand gestures. The contract was signed with seconds to spare, and a teary Eady got to take the money home thanks to a bunch of strangers who stood up for her.

"What can we do together that we cannot do apart?" asked the actors at the very start. It was genuinely inspiring to see the participants being grounded with confidence and precision by a few individuals with no stakes in the matter. We truly hope that in some way or another all shows get to experience a little bit of Eady.

The Money runs at London County Hall until 18 July.

Photo credit: Helen Maybanks

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