Serious Money: Walking Plutocratic London

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Anyone with a smartphone has a pretty decent camera in the hand, so you can take some stunning photos or even boring ones – if they sell, does it matter what you’re taking photos of? It makes you wonder what archaeologists of the post-apocalyptic future will make of these mysterious artefacts when they are eventually reclaimed from their resting place. If all other signs of Kensington’s glory were to disintegrate into radioactive dust, will they be able to work out the finely stratified nature of the civilisation that produced these subterranean machines?

The reader is left in doubt as to whether they ever truly find it, but then that’s in the nature of their predicament. To cross the class and economic divides that mark, or scar, London is not a journey many are able to make successfully. At least in Notting Hill there is still a sense of the cheek-by-jowl poles of wealth and poverty that have long distinguished London from other European cities, in which the poor are often safely kept away from the rich. This amateur production of “Serious Money” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. Performances:

She’s right, they do. It’s a feature of the Grosvenor Estate, apparently, some kind of floral requirement. It’s one of the decorative touches that help normalise a strange legacy of the distant past. It’s now politically acceptable to feel a sense of outrage at Russians or billionaires from other nations, who took advantage of a corrupt state to gain their wealth. But of aristocrats whose forebears did something similar with land, only hundreds of years ago, we’re still in social awe.

An eye-opening, deeply disturbing, fast-moving journey through the lives, homes and affairs of the filthy rich of London' Danny Dorling, author of All That Is SolidIt’s largely new money,” says Knowles about Wentworth’s super primes, “or people who want to remain hidden.” In the fast-paced world of high finance, Directors Charlie McGuire and James Allen’s rendition of “Serious Money” offers an indelible mark on the audience with its sharp wit and unapologetic critique of capitalism. First performed in 1987, Caryl Churchill’s play revolves around the ruthless pursuit of wealth and power in the financial world. The plot focuses on a hostile corporate takeover and moral bankruptcy, following the death of Jake, ( Annie Rainbow) inherent in the cutthroat culture of high finance. Jacinta Condor, a wealthy Peruvian woman, tries to launder money in London. She combines predatory business tactics with contempt for the men she manipulates. Jacinta meets her match in Zac, whom she marries. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the super rich raise the cost of housing; shunt the long-entitled into unfamiliar neighbourhoods; relocate the poor; close public amenities to make more room for luxury developments; cordon off streets with barriers and reroute dog walkers, cyclists and drivers. Paul Murphy has an Advanced Diploma in Financial Services and has been providing advice and solutions for clients since 1992.

The cityscapes show London’s financial district around the Bank of England, capturing it from north, south, east and west. These images are taken from – or near to – social housing estates and show the views of most Londoners of its banking towers: always from a distance. As housing estates are ‘redeveloped’, tenants are frozen in residual housing options, often in poor condition, or shunted to the periphery of the city. Increasing numbers of Londoners are displaced and excluded as the city’s streets become places for the rich.Virginia Water, Surrey: a prime location for multimillion-pound homes. Photograph: Greg Balfour Evans/Alamy I think they were a group of women who looked for meaningful ways of spending their time,” she says. “I think what they were searching for was some kind of authenticity.” What impact do London’s bankers, hedge fund managers, property speculators, CEOs, Russian, Ukrainian, Chinese and Middle Eastern oligarchs, aristocrats, footballers and assorted celebrities really make on the communities around them? You can make immediate money by promoting the services or products from another company, whether it be food, clothes or switching energy companies directly through your social media accounts.

From the closed-off streets surrounding Wentworth Golf Club through Richmond, Kew, Chelsea and Knightsbridge and onto South Kensington, Mayfair and London’s financial district, through the Serious Money walk Professor Knowles will photograph, map and record the impact of the elite on the worlds they inhabit. With many of the cast playing multiple characters, the versatility of these actors is apparent. Both Annie Fogden (Scilla) and Annie Rainbow’s (Jake) take on their multiple roles is note-worthy. Each change in character offered a unique element and was clearly well thought out. Outside we head up to Mayfair, which alongside the hedge funds and private equity firms, is said to contain 28% of London’s Michelin-starred restaurants. It’s an odd place, because in one sense the money is highly conspicuous – there are the famous hotels, Claridges, the Connaught, the Dorchester, with their chauffeur-driven clientele – the art galleries and the luxury-car showrooms that never seem to have any customers. Luxury abounds in every chapter, from ‘humane’ caviar to underground swimming pools, but Knowles frequently reminds the reader of the inequality, gentrification and homelessness in the wealthy’s shadow. This is most powerful in the chapter ‘The Burning Tower’, exploring the aftermath of the 2017 Grenfell fire which killed 72 people and upended the lives of many more.Professor Caroline Knowleshas been awarded a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship to conduct a three-year investigation into the city’s Serious Money and the people who make and spend it. When the internet first got popular, getting hold of domain names was easier, but lots have been taken.