Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Live: National Tour

Successful young entrepreneur Benjamin Maio McKay has detected an interesting niche opportunity and solved it with a perfect blend of stage action, live ‘radio play’ reading and online entertainment, his Great Detectives of Old Time Radio concept. Now it’s ready to tour nationally. Lesley Reed reports.

Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Live was a hit for Preachrs Podcast OnLine & OnStage during the 2015 Adelaide Fringe and was critically acclaimed. However, company founder Benjamin Maio McKay felt the show could be improved.

“I began re-working the scripts and added a whole new play, while removing Dragnet,” he said. “Now this show combines dramatic acting and comedy - both genres of theatre which I love working in. Also, while there is a huge emphasis on the voice work, there is also a physical nature to the show, so it’s also visually appealing.”

The revised version of the show will be touring to nine Australian cities, beginning in September this year during Sydney Fringe 2016.  It will then tour to Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Hobart, Canberra and Darwin over 2016 and 2017.

“The 1950s were the golden age of radio drama,” Benjamin said. “Now you can relive three classic mysteries live on stage and be immersed as this show recreates before your eyes the experience of attending a 1950s radio drama recording, with scripts from old favourites, Candy Matson and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar. It resonated with so many members of our audience in the 2015 Adelaide Fringe and I’m ecstatic that we’ll be able to perform this new version to audiences all over Australia. It has the right mix of comedy, drama and history - it really appeals to all ages and tastes.”

I asked Benjamin to tell me a little of the background behind Preachrs Podcast OnLine & OnStage. He said, “I’ve always had a love of radio and audio dramas. It’s a fantastic art form, which is so often lost in this highly visual era. Being able to combine my love of theatre and audio dramas in this show is really a dream come true. The idea for the show came to me in 2013 while listening to podcasts of 1950s radio plays, but was sidelined as I developed other projects. I’ve been lucky enough to work in radio and I also host/produce one of the most downloaded arts podcasts in the world, so I’m quite experienced in audio production. These skills I’m able to use to help accurately create a 1950s radio drama and direct the other performers vocally.”

The first show Benjamin produced was based on his original podcast and was called 50 Years of Doctor Who: Preachrs Podcast Live. It spawned three sequels, playing to thousands of people around Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne. The sequel show was tied in votes as second best at the 2014 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. In 2015 Benjamin produced the original version of Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Live as part of the Adelaide Fringe. Early in 2016 he worked with best-selling author Matthew Reilly to stage his novel Ice Station as an audio drama. It achieved critical success.

When I asked Benjamin why he chose the particular radio plays that feature in Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Live, he said, “I spent months researching all the different radio dramas that were on in the 1950s and while there are a wealth of good shows, only a couple were great. That’s how I came across Candy Matson and Yours Truly Johnny Dollar. These stories are not only dramatic and mysterious - but funny. For me that was one of the first major selling points for this whole show. This mix of comedy, mystery and intrigue is a recipe for the perfect evening at the theatre - it’s everything somebody could want from a show.”

Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Live features a strong cast of Australian actors including Eden Trebilco, Julia Sciacca, Jennifer Barry and Benjamin Maio Mackay himself. The show will feature a range of special guest stars who take on cameo roles in the show. Joining the show in Sydney are Andrew Hansen (The Chaser), Kurt Phelan (Dirty Dancing) and Stephen Mahy (Grease, Jersey Boys). Adelaide guests include Graeme Goodings (7 News), Markus Hamence (SceneTV) and Mark Oates (State Opera). Melbourne guest stars feature Dave Callan (A Little Less Conversation) and Rob Lloyd (Who, Me?). Further guest stars will be announced in the lead up to the show.

Reviews of previous Preachrs Podcast OnLine & OnStage shows are excellent, including:

‘There’s something utterly charming about the radio plays of the 1950s, and this production captures that charm perfectly…Close your eyes and you’re back in the 1950s listening avidly as the latest instalment spirals out of the wireless!’

The Advertiser, Adelaide

‘Great experience. An opportunity that doesn’t come along often – a trip back in time to the sounds of yesteryear.’

Radio Adelaide

‘If you have a hankering to revisit the entertainment of another era, this is an excellent way to do it.’

Rip it Up

Should you be keen to revisit the experience of live-recorded and visually terrific old time radio or to newly discover its appeal, now’s the chance for audiences throughout Australia to be part of the truly entertaining phenomenon that is Great Detectives of Old Time Radio Live.

WHERE AND WHEN:

Sydney Fringe, Old 505 Theatre, September 13-18, 2016.

Adelaide, Tandanya, September 28-October 9, 2016.

Melbourne, Club Voltaire, February 20-26, 2017.

Further dates will be announced over coming months.

BOOKINGS:

Sydney: Sydney Fringe

Adelaide

Melbourne

Other cities: to be announced in coming months.

Photographer: Michael Allen.