Radio Variety Hour brings to the stage the energy and chaos of a 1950s radio broadcast, complete with voice actors, songs and hokey sound effects. This delightful blast from the past is playing at the Producers Bar, Grenfell St, Adelaide until February 27.
Set in 1959, as radio begins to feel the impact of television, Radio Variety Hour is also the show-within-the-show. We watch as three performers and one producer bicker off-air, only to turn on the smiles and cheery voices when the broadcast light switches on.
Three stories, clearly part of regular serials, make up the bulk of the show. There’s a lady detective mystery with noir narration and gumshoe slang. There’s an adventure story following Captain Jet Propulsion and his crew through space. And to top it all off, there’s a horror tale from ‘Peculiar Avenue’, in the style of Tales from the Darkside.
With off-the-rack characters and obviously-embedded, ham-fisted sponsor advertisements, these tales are hilariously clichéd. However, they are delivered with healthy portions of both nostalgia and irony, making the whole thing very enjoyable.
The sound effects are also lots of fun. Cabbages are karate-chopped, kazoos are drowned and many, many balloons are popped to bring the story action to auditory life. Though it’s sometimes a bit of a scramble, the three performers use simple, inventive tricks to great effect.
At times, the whole thing comes off as a little rough and ready, and the secondary, off-air story is not as strong as the on-air radio program. However, the show’s fast pace and quirky style keeps everybody laughing and entertained.
Radio Variety Hour takes an unusual idea and brings it successfully to life. It gets the balance right between laughing at the past and celebrating it.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Radio Variety Hour
Produced and performed by Lauren Bok and Ben Vernel
Written and performed by Sam Marzden and Bert Goldsmith
The Producers Bar, Grenfell St
Adelaide Fringe
www.adelaidefringe.com.au
19 – 27 February
