The Unicorn Theatre has named the six performers who will lead Pocket Money, a new interactive show about money for seven to twelve-year-olds. It runs in the venue's Weston Theatre from 26 September - 1 November 2026, backed by the Bank of England in what the Unicorn says is that institution's first partnership with a theatre company.
The Unicorn Theatre has announced the full company for Pocket Money, a world premiere created by Nigel Barrett and Louise Mari for audiences aged 7-12. The production opens in the theatre's Weston Theatre on Saturday 26 September and plays until Sunday 1 November 2026, with press night on Wednesday 7 October at 7pm.
Barrett performs in his own show alongside Neil Frost, Emily Hayman, MISFYA, Jamar Morgan and Rochelle Rose. MISFYA takes a second role as music producer and DJ, playing a live set woven through the performance.
The show hands its decisions to the audience. Children vote through an interactive system built into the staging, steering choices about spending, saving and the consequences that follow, in what the creators describe as an anarchic hour rather than a lesson. Barrett and Mari, who work as an experimental performance duo, developed the piece in consultation with financial experts and with the Unicorn's Creative Associates, a group of children aged 8-12 who shape productions from inside the building.
That consultation is the Unicorn's usual method. The Tooley Street theatre makes work exclusively for children up to the age of 13 and reports welcoming around 65,000 families and schoolchildren a year, with its Creative Hub pairing staff artists with young collaborators on the shows that reach its stages.
Nigel Barrett and Louise Mari said: "We are absolutely thrilled to be presenting our original interactive show POCKET MONEY at The Unicorn - our national theatre for children. We have an incredible team of Olivier nominated actors and artists, makers and technologists and a dedicated team of Young Associates who have been helping us every step of the way. It has been an absolute joy to make from start to finish and we can't wait to share the show with young audiences."
The production is supported by the Aberdeen Group Charitable Trust and the Bank of England, which the Unicorn describes as the first time either organisation has partnered a theatre company. An advisory group of financial specialists chaired by Nizam Uddin OBE has worked on the material, drawing in figures from the Bank of England, the Financial Times financial literacy campaign, the Oxford University Endowment and Doconomy, among others.
The creative team is completed by set and costume designer Laura Hopkins, lighting and video designer Josh Pharo, video design collaborator SR, sound designer Marie Zschommler and sound consultants Ben and Max Ringham.
Tickets are priced from £3 to £20. Four access performances are scheduled: a BSL-interpreted performance on Wednesday 21 October at 11am, a sensory adapted performance on Friday 16 October at 11am, an audio-described performance on Friday 23 October, and a captioned performance on Saturday 24 October at 12.30pm.
