Edinburgh Fringe 2023
Roger McGough’s Money-Go-Round
Jam Jar Theatrical Productions
Genre: Children's Theatre, Musical Theatre
Venue: Assembly Rooms
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
An innovative take on the classic story of The Wind in the Willows, exploring our kinship with nature as well as nudging us to guard against the destructive pursuit of wealth. And it’s a bundle of fun to watch, full of catchy tunes with plenty of action throughout.
Review
The young girl buying a programme for Jam Jar Theatrical Productions’ brilliant show about money and how it goes around (called Money-Go-Round funnily enough) offers up her prepaid debit card in payment. However, she omits to ask how much she was about to be charged. That’s the danger of debit cards – swipe and forget! Remorse and repayment follows thereafter.
However, I’ll wager our young spender was much the wiser after an hour that somehow managed to convey the concepts of how money circulates and the choices we face every time we spend anything without once being boring! And we’re even taught the principles of debt assignment without losing anyone in the audience, so that must be a first for any form of entertainment, adult or children’s.
Dear old Lavender Mole’s Treehouse Hotel is in a bit of a financial pickle. The guest book is blank, there are bills needing paying and there’s nothing in the cash kitty. But along comes Mr Toad looking for accommodation. Were he at the Fringe, of course, he’d need a large mortgage just to find a cupboard to sleep in, but we’re in good old Bluebell Wood, so a solitary shiny gold coin is all that’s needed for a week’s B&B. Come on, suspension of disbelief and all that!
Lavender is much relieved. Now she can pay Stoat for cleaning her windows, Stoat can pay Badger for the brushes he made for her, Badger can pay Rat, Rat can pay Otter, Otter can pay Weasel and so on, until the coin ends up where it started. Or does it? And did we really need the coin in the first place?
It’s a novel spin on the classic story of The Wind in the Willows, exploring our kinship with nature as well as giving us a dig in the ribs to guard against the destructive pursuit of wealth. And it’s a bundle of fun to watch, full of catchy tunes with plenty of action going on throughout.
The six actors are all on the money from the word go, grabbing the attention of their audience and never letting it go. Characterisation is pitch perfect, as is their mellifluous singing. The exquisitely crafted set morphs from river bank to hotel to a boat and jetty, a castle and several more settings beside. The costumes are many and colourful, the props all beautifully made and perfectly sized.
Steve Halliwell and Walter Wray’s music comes with cleverly crafted lyrics that are wittily informative on the subject matter in hand and the whole thing has been superbly pulled together by the Director/Producer team of Jonny Danciger and Jamie Rycroft. It’s so polished that wouldn’t look out of place in London’s West End, or even on Broadway.
And the kids all get it. I spent time watching their reaction to the action going on all around them and they were hooked, even the wonderful Alekander who, at 4 months old, spent the entire hour on his father’s knee, arms and legs waggling in time to the music, eyes as big as saucers, an almighty grin on his face. Priceless!
Apparently, UK adult numeracy is now so bad that one in six adults struggle even to identify the balance on their bank statement. They ought to invest a tenner and watch a show that will keep anyone entertained and send them out knowing a lot more than when they arrived. After all, the failure to grasp the basics of money can seriously damage your wealth. Highly recommended viewing!
