Sunday, February 14, 2010

"Crunch" - February 2010

For some of those escaping from offices during lunchtime last week to catch their regular Play, Pie & Pint at Oran Mor, "Crunch" may have come as an unpleasant surprise. Is there anything that fills an office worker with more dread than walking into a room set up with a powerpoint presentation and a flip chart? But while at times it's just too close to the real thing, Gary McNair injects a lot of fun into the proceedings.

McNair sets out the reasons societies have created money/currency and then urges us to take a step back from the financial system. Any drier moments are livened up with entertaining audience interaction that does ask us to question our beliefs and values. How much will we risk for a potential gain? What value do we place on our things/ourselves? Why do we fritter/waste so much of it? Most revealing was the general sense of uneasiness as McNair reminded us that a £10 note is simply a piece of paper like any other. While there were no takers to join him in his final demonstration during Saturday's performance I'd be interested to hear if anyone participated in earlier shows. Had I had a five pound note in my pocket I may even have been tempted myself - but there was no way I was volunteering the £20 in my wallet destined to pay for last night's takeaway!

"Crunch" is one of the few shows that has left me with something to think about - and the more I've thought about it, the more I've liked it. And perhaps I'll give it some more thought the next time I'm given a five pound one pound note in my change.

Crunch has completed its run as part of 'A Play, A Pie & A Pint' at Oran Mor
Image by Leslie Black Photography used with permission