Fitzrovia Radio Hour
Celebrating an age when radio was brand new and radio drama was stuffed with more stereotypes and cut-glass accents than afternoon tea at Lords, the show's writer/performers use new material to recreate the spirit of vintage radio plays for a modern audience.
Classic radio plays of the 40's and 50's performed and recorded in front of a live studio audience (you!) Rip roaring fun!
Vowels are as neatly clipped as the gentlemen's moustaches, upper lips as stiff as their shirt collars, and emotions are kept as concealed as a woman's knee... Huzzah for the Empire's finest!' Mail On Sunday
Classic radio yarns, brilliantly evoking a dinner-jacketed age of casual imperialism. Extraordinary tales with sound effects created live!
'Absolutely spiffing' ****
The Fitzrovia Radio Hour conceive, write and perform theatrical radio plays in the 1940s style.
The plays are performed in evening dress, behind period microphones and with sound effects produced live.
The Fitzrovians revel in the glamour of a bygone era, from costume and performance to props. They transport audiences to their unique universe - a wonderful imagining of how commercial 1940s radio should have been done.
The Fitzrovia Radio Hour lovingly satirise the casual imperialism and stiff upper lips of the period, throwing them into relief with physical comedy and a modern twist to produce a heady comic cocktail.
An hour-long theatre show usually contains three stories - typically in genres such as horror, adventure, science fiction and romance - interspersed with advertisements for products such as whisky, cigarettes and stout.
Slickly done, recreating the clipped tones and frantic behind-the-scenes activity in a radio studio where the actors also have to provide all the sound effects. Characters die on the airwaves to the sound of a cabbage being chopped and a watermelon being squelched.
Popular characters include Leinigen, a fearless explorer; Squadron Leader Edward Templar, an intrepid RAF pilot; Professor Quested, an investigator of the unusual; and Frank Maskill, a Leeds lathe worker who should have known his place.
The troupe began in 2008, when founding members restaged vintage radio plays from America. They enjoyed wearing pencil moustaches so much that they were inspired to write original material in a period style. Since then they have won widespread acclaim and performed extensively to sold-out houses including a season at Trafalgar Studios and a year-long residency at Shakespeare's Globe, London (Swan at The Globe / Underglobe
Corporate shows can be 1/2 hour in length and bespoke twists and shows are available (with enough time in advance) to include characters and ideas from your company or guests.
