Do theatres actually read scripts before agreeing to stage them?

Money is a new internet play about financial corruption starring Mel Giedroyc. She appears on-screen for less time than it takes to eat a Malteser. Giedroyc plays the boss of a palm-oil firm that wipes out orangutan habitats in Asia and wants to launder its reputation by donating cash to a London charity. A million quid is on the table.

The charity staff meet via Zoom to discuss the gift. But first they brief each other about their latest activities which, predictably enough, consist of stoking grievances and spreading self-pity. Their charitable aims include ‘tackling local loneliness’, and ‘breaking down barriers based on age, race and gender’. The meeting then moves to the big question: should they accept cash from a firm that kills cuddly animals? Obviously not. Equally obviously, they shouldn’t even discuss it.

The dramatist, Isla van Tricht, seems not to have spotted that any disgruntled member of staff could easily destroy the organisation by leaking the contents of the meeting. ‘Community leaders secretly discussed £1 million bung from oil firm accused of endangering wildlife.’ That headline would sink any charity. Corruption in the not-for-profit sector is a fascinating topic, but it deserves the attention of a heavyweight writer.

Rocky Road is a new thriller livestreamed from the tiny Jermyn Street Theatre. The stage has been ingeniously configured to represent two flats occupied by neighbours in a housing block. Zoe is a glamorous beauty whose career involves lots of international travel. She sets out to befriend a bearded moron, Danny, who works as a cab driver and spends his spare time screaming at his kitchen table. There’s a twist here. The pair met once before, on a London street, a decade earlier, when Danny stabbed Zoe multiple times with a dagger.