Two Classic Radio Shows On Stage One Memorable Evening

This Thursday and Friday the Stockton Heath Methodist Dramatic Society have a special evening of entertainment lined up

Two classic radio shows, one memorable evening!

The society will be performing Orson Welles’s War of The Worlds – and in complete contrast, Six Charlies in Search of an Author, a classic Goon Show.

It was October 1938 when a young Orson Wells narrated his adaptation of the H G Wells classic live from the Mercury Theatre on American CBS radio.

The broadcast was presented as a series of realistic news bulletins describing a Martian invasion in New Jersey, causing confusion among listeners who missed its introduction explaining it was fictional.

While reports of mass hysteria were exaggerated, some listeners panicked, believing the broadcast depicted real events and the broadcast sparked widespread media outrage and debates about the ethics of broadcasting.

In complete contrast, Six Charlies in Search of an Author is a notable episode of the British radio comedy series The Goon Show which was first broadcast on December 26, 1956.

The title is a playful parody of Luigi Pirandello’s play Six Characters in Search of an Author and revolves around Neddie Seagoon being blackmailed by Hercules Grytpype-Thynne and Count Jim Moriarty.

As the story unfolds, the characters begin to manipulate the plot using a typewriter, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.

The episode features the show’s signature surreal humour and absurdity – and we’re pleased to report that the script hasn’t been sanitised for the Stockton Heath audience!

It was a pleasure to welcome Paul Thompson to our morning studio.  You can listen again right here.

Tickets

Tickets are £9 in advance or £10 on the door and are available at Ticket Source.