In the spring of 1950, Midlands region listeners to the BBC Home Service heard five pilot episodes of a proposed new serial drama. Then, on New Year’s Day 1951, The Archers began regular national broadcasts, and before long it topped 20 million listeners.
75 years and over 21,000 episodes later, it is celebrating its anniversary with a major tour of a stage show, featuring members of the current cast and hosted by comedian and self-confessed Archers superfan Angela Barnes. This week it found its way to Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall, and given the opportunity to see this I needed no second bidding.
To put this review into context, my own personal journey with The Archers began some 45 years ago when I began listening to the weekly omnibus edition with a friend at university. Over the years life has got in the way, and it is safe to say that my ‘Archery practice’ is currently somewhat lapsed (but that might be about to change!)
What is certainly clear from the packed house of enthusiastic fans is that the show definitely has a very loyal following, and this is demonstrated even more by the sense of camaraderie among the audience.
The evening very much takes the form of an ‘audience with’ event and, at each venue on the tour, a selection of stars from the show appear on stage alongside the host. In Liverpool, Barnes is joined by Charles Collingwood, Ryan Kelly, Susie Riddell and Sunny Ormonde, known to fans as Brian Aldridge, Jazzer McCreary, Tracy Horrobin and Lilian Bellamy. Along with these members of the voice cast comes spot sound effects artist Vanessa Nuttall, armed with an impressive array of the tools of her trade, from a tumble dryer to a tub of yogurt.
As an icebreaker, Barnes engages the audience in an Archers trivia quiz (facilitated via mobile phones and a website) and we establish that 4% of the people in the room have listened from the very beginning, while the majority have been fans for over 20 years.
The bulk of the show consists of a series of anecdotes from the cast members, who talk about their own characters (most having played more than one over the years) and their early experiences of joining the cast, as well as discussing highlights from their time behind the microphones. Barnes is an exceptional host, and while her own enthusiasm for The Archers shines throughout, she succeeds in keeping a balance in the participation of all four of the voice actors.
What goes on to become one of the biggest highlights of the evening is the arrival of Vanessa Nuttall, who demonstrates how all of the background effects are created. What many listeners might not realise is just how quickly the episodes are made, how little rehearsal time there is, and how little opportunity for post-production. This means that while the actors are reading from a script in hand (or in Ryan Kelly’s case, from memory, having learned the script from a text reader) any sound associated with their actions has to be created simultaneously by Nuttall. There she is, flitting about the studio, taking her cues from the spoken words and often gestures of the actors, clanking, rustling, and clattering about. A vintage metal ironing board has apparently played the part of every gate and creaking door for many years, and while the slopping about of handfuls of yogurt might suffice for most farm animal births, the arrival of a human baby requires something even more squishy.
Some of this is demonstrated in two or three dramatised segments, where the actors stand by a microphone reading their scripts while Nuttall performs her gymnastics in the background, with the aid of a couple of onstage cameras that help us to see what she is doing in closeup.
As the show progresses we have another participation round in the form of The Bull pub quiz, and then a Q&A session, where the actors respond to questions gathered from the audience during the interval (again using mobile phones). This provides a catalyst for a great many more anecdotes and a lot of laughter, plus a good deal more demonstration from the sound effects department by Nuttall.
Radio drama has a peculiar ability to engage listeners’ imaginations – as a storytelling technique it sits somewhere between watching a film and reading a book, but is closer to the latter, and the vivid reality of the world it conjures is beautifully demonstrated in the way that some 1,500 or so people in one room suddenly feel like a family gathered around the wireless.
The Archers Live at 75 is a joyous evening that absolutely delights its audience, and shows just how much love there is for this national treasure of a radio programme. I can guarantee you that there will be at least one more lapsed listener tuning in this weekend. (Although – and this was a revelation – it is sometimes best to binge-listen the individual episodes back to back on BBC Sounds, because due to timing there are occasional scenes that never make it into the Omnibus edition!)
The Archers Live at 75 is produced under license from the BBC, and the tour will continue via a further 12 venues through to November 26th. Dates and booking information can be found here.
Star rating: 4 stars
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| The full touring voice cast of The Archers Live at 75 - Picture by Steve Ullathorne |
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| Vanessa Nuttall - Picture by Carsten Windhorst |
This review was originally written for publication by Good News Liverpool
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