The Great Hargeisa Goat Bubble, by Julian Gough, unravels the fundamentals of market economics and financial bubbles in the unlikely context of a Somaliland goat market.

It is the story of an encounter, one snowy night on a railway platform somewhere in Southern England, between a young Irish orphan, Jude, and Dr Ibrahim Bihi, a Somali with a degree in economics who has made and lost a fortune in the virtual goat market.

As Dr Bihi relates the story of his rise and fall, he takes the opportunity to educate young Jude in the pitfalls and the glories of market forces. From the first daring step to double his fortune, to the rise of the virtual goat and the tragic bursting of the bubble, this adaptation of Gough's comic, but acute, story hopes to illuminate something of the financial world we all inhabit - be it in the eastern reaches of Africa or the City today.

Our Review: One of the best satirical Afternoon Plays we've heard. With the help of a number of goats being splattered by aeroplanes, Julian Gough has managed to explain to us (in a fun and entertaining way) the complicated economics behind derivatives, futures, virtual markets and other such mind-bending financial 'products'.

It's now all so clear! Actually, when it the story is spelled out as clearly as it was here, it becomes rather obvious this massive financial meltdown was going to occur sooner or later! After all, when you're starting to dress dogs up as goats, and then begin creating computer programs to push virtual goats in front of virtual planes, you can tell something has gone wrong!