Radio Effex Review by Rosemary Westwell
- HAmDramS’ production of Radio Effex, a week in the life of a local radio station written by the company, was well worth attending. The programme was packed with silly delights deliciously mocking the worst of the radio garbage that bombards our ears on a daily basis. We chuckled constantly at the content of the script and the dilemmas of the actors and actresses in a variety of episodes.
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- Outrageous advertisements such as meat pies stuffed with ‘whatever we can catch’ bound together the separate items. An over-the-top children’s programme, “Jolly Olly Octopus”, was littered with hilarious sound effects. Amazing news item focused our attention immediately by announcing, for example, the arrival of an atheist vicar to the region. “Snakes and Ladders” was a game show programme with a difference, led by sleazy chairman Sid Jacobs (Nick Chapman) who could hardly keep his eyes and hands off glamourpuss contestant Anna Condera (Jess Garrett). “At Home with the Puns” was a brief sketch with a stream of corny puns at every turn. “Problem Solvers” became the help programme of confusion, confusing, amongst others, the difference between medical and household plumbing.
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- One of the most effective items was “The Voice of Experience” in which the Bishop of Chatteris (Rodney Dale) read (in his own inimitable homely style) of the tiniest details of his task for the day: putting up a shelf. Without a flicker of hesitation he soothed his way through the script while the studio, due for renovation, was unceremoniously dismantled by workmen. The episode ended with the bishop still seated at his table being entirely obscured from view by a dust sheet as he was slowly but surely wheeled right out of the studio, still mid-script.
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- “Slaughter at the Farm” ended the programme true to style. A group of contrasting actors, actresses and studio staff battled courageously through the telling of a tale of murder with amazing moments of confusion and mayhem. No other show has seen the like of the problems that coloured events in this radio programme. Coffee spilled on the brand spanking new sound effects console began a series of catastrophic occurrences of mammoth proportions: marital tiffs; spats between the cast revealing deep professional jealousy; the effects of unrehearsed script revisions; problems of the prostate; victims who refused to die; inevitable interruptions from mobile phones the cast had forgotten to switch off; confusion over whether a victim was shot or knifed – they were all there.
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- What made this evening special were the high moments arising from skilful script writing, and the incredible hard work of director Robert Bush and the cast, who managed to bring to life the real comedy of the situations. There were times when I found myself roaring with uninhibited laughter. These dedicated people presented an entertaining and polished home-grown show worthy of any stage. Let us have more.
