From money websites encouraging us to compare the market to gurus like Alvin Hall and Martin Lewis helping us to stretch the pennies, there’s no shortage of financial advice around.

It seems that the credit crunch has forced us all to take a closer look at the world of bean-counting, but at what cost?

Gary McNair takes a look at this changing relationship with money in his topical new show, Crunch.

Inspired by the chaotic state of the financial system, McNair’s one-man show takes the form of a five-step motivational speech, and is the latest offering in the new season of Oran Mor’s lunchtime theatre series A Play, A Pie And A Pint.

Crunch is McNair’s third play after Equal & Opposite in 2008 and last year’s The Bull And Bear Are Marking Their Territory. And while his latest production carries a more mainstream theme, there was no deliberate move in this direction.

“I came up with the idea when I was working as an associate of the National Theatre of Scotland,” he explains.

“I started looking into the relationship we have with money, how it came to be so over-ruling, and the more I scratched the surface I was confused by how it happened, and more so how it was allowed to happen. There definitely is a more mainstream theme to the play, but there was no conscious move towards that.”

This desire to go where his own inquisition takes him offers an insight into why McNair, who writes, performs and directs the play, chooses to work alone.

“I tend to set out on investigations myself, I like to explore things I don’t understand and take it from there.”

McNair has drawn praise for the sharp humour of previous work and his ability to interact with audiences, and while he admits to being inspired by comic legends such as Woody Allen and Eddy Izzard, he is reluctant to brand his work as comedy. “I think it can be dangerous to advertise your work as comedy. I would like to think that there is a central message that people can take from the show, and if they get a laugh out of it as well then that’s obviously a bonus.”

With Crunch, McNair – who graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 2007 – continues to establish himself as an emerging talent in the industry. He also revealed that work on his fourth play – Platform 18 – is under way.

• Crunch is at 1.05pm at Oran Mor, Byres Road, until Saturday. Tickets are priced £10 today and Thursday; £8 on Wednesday; £12.50 on Friday and Saturday and are available on the door, or by calling 08444 771000.