Presented by Preachrs Podcast OnLine & OnStage
Reviewed 2 October 2016
Believe it or not, there was a life of home entertainment in the Age of BT (Before Television – and DVDs, Blu Ray, You Tube, Netflix, Stan etc) – it was called Radio. Not, however, the Radio we know today: no talkback, dial-in competitions, or Top 100 Hits. Instead there was a phenomenon called ‘radio plays’, the majority of which were mystery and detective stories.
Young ‘whizz kid’ entrepreneur Benjamin Maio Mackay, whose parents wouldn’t even have been a twinkle in their parents eyes back in the 30s, 40s or 50s, has decided to resurrect this noble tradition by recreating the Golden Age of Radio Plays – and we are so glad he has!
Using three authentic scripts from 1950s American radio shows Candy Matson and Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar!, Mackay and his talented cohorts, Eden Trebilco, Jennifer Barry and Julia Sciacca present us with 75 minutes of fantastic fun.
These four don’t just stand at what look like authentic olde worlde radio microphone stands and read scripts, they move about, mime and use the mics in a wonderfully choreographed way.
Accents from all four are beautifully spot-on and each cast member shines in their characterisations: Sciacca is the perfect Candy Matson, girl detective; Mackay’s voice just oozes ruggedly handsome charm as Detective Mallard (a pre-cursor to David McCallum’s Dr Mallard from NCIS perhaps?); Trebilco plays heroes and villains with an equal high degree of skill; and Barry absolutely amazes with her vocal skills portraying everything from a four year old boy through to an 87 year old woman perfectly.
This is the type of show where one grins from ear to ear from go to woah! Brave this strange apocalyptic weather and experience this wonderful, warming entertainment – you’ll be glad you did!
Reviewed by Brian Godfrey
Twitter: @briangods
Venue: Tandanya, Grenfell Street
Season: 28 Sept – 9 Oct 2016
Duration: 75 mins
Tickets: $22
Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/MBCL
More News
