Jeff Kreisler's Get Rich Cheating

Current events can be a boon to comics on the Fringe, yet the tiresome assonance of the ‘credit crunch’ has been oddly absent from comedy routines this year. Thankfully, Jeff Kreisler goes where other comics fear to tread: “Who here has lost their home?” he asks, risking disaster. “Nobody? Don’t worry, there’s still time.”

Kreisler’s set bristles with such ironic barbs, the best of which induce as much anger as mirth – a zest missing from shows that glibly respond to the recession with weak exhortations to “have a good time”. While some targets, such as Bernie Madoff, are predictable, Kreisler’s keen intellect sees to it that tired subjects are rendered shocking and original. Reflections such as his labelling of pensions as “giving your money to your boss for safe keeping” are so clever, you wonder why they aren’t present in the political discourse.

The format – an infomercial cum self-help seminar based around Kreisler’s new book – is equally original and engaging, although the comic does at times seem caught uncomfortably between scripted theatre and free-flowing stand-up. Kreisler has in the past been accused of recycling his American material to the bemusement of British audiences. While this isn’t the case here, a few culture-specific clangers drop to the floor; why talk about juiced-up baseball players when the UK can offer its very own Dwayne Chambers for the slaughter? These are minor faults with what is a slickly delivered, well thought-out set – Kreisler should be playing to bigger audiences.