Spent @ Pleasance Dome

In an artistically literate environment such as the Fringe, a sympathetic audience would obviously not be hard to find for this satirical look at the financial crisis, yet Spent delivers superior physical hilarity and rapid-fire questioning that is immensely entertaining.

The two performers switch super-fast between their 20 different characters, the first section focussed on an extended sketch of a BBC news broadcast of the 2008 financial crisis and the second a fantasy sequence of two men who attempt to kill themselves by jumping off a building in Toronto.

Biting questions ensue - is this really how much was earnt by big bankers? Is it FAIR? Why must gains be privatised and losses be socialised? All accompanied by corporate style clowns - suit-bedecked and amusedly carrying imploring cardboard signs - whose facial expressions, magnificent and hilarious accents and amusing spins are used with impeccable skill to indicate character shifts.

The fantasty sequence itself is bewildering: obviously the irony of the 'miracle' of their survival overshadowing why they decide to jump in the first place is their intention, but the various activities seem more an exposition of skill than relevance.