Retro Radio

Three ancient BBC radio classics stood the test of time in hilarious renditions at Blue Crush in Scarborough.
Four seasoned old hands who were probably around when the shows were broadcast perfectly delivered beautifully crafted gags written decades ago by long-gone comedy legends who had honed their skills in the forces.
Retro Radio, first performed at Woodend last October, featured an episode each of The Goon Show, The Navy Lark and Round the Horne.
Standing in front of four microphones and reading the hallowed scripts, Glynn Mills, Roger Maughan, Mat Watkinson and Rick Switzer-Green were clearly having as much fun as the 45 people who paid £8 for the privilege.
Donna Switzer-Green acquited the tricky job of coordinating and creating the myriad sound effects with great timing and dexterity.
The shows were presented as if they were being broadcast live, as they originally were. Props included an applause box which illuminated when the audience was required to clap.
The Navy Lark show, broadcast on 19 April 1963, and Round the Horne, broadcast on 15 January 1967, were very funny, especially Mat and Roger camping up outrageously as Julian and Sandy.
But my favourite was Tales of Old Dartmoor, the Goons show broadcast on 7 February 1956, a barrage of inane, irreverent, iconoclastic, surreal nonsense which raised howls of laughter throughout.
Neddy Seagoon, Eccles, Moriarty, the narrator, etc, sprang vividly back to life, lovingly and professionally reincarnated by the talented quartet; the voices were spot on.
Directed by Glynn, the show featured a bit of corpsing and musical interludes in which Roger (with a cushion stuffed up his shirt) gave terrific renditions of The Tender Trap and All of Me.