An Evening of (Very) Old Radio: The First Firsts of British Broadcasting
A new 'stand-up history' show on British broadcasting's origin story, written and performed by Paul Kerensa
Where and When (and other shows like it):
Thu 9th May -An Evening of (Very) Old Radio, Mill Studio, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, GUILDFORD
Fri 10th May - An Evening of (Very) Old Radio, Mill Studio, Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, GUILDFORD
Sat 15th June (Melba Day!) - An Evening of (Very) Old Radio - The Quarry Theatre, BEDFORD
Sat 6th July - An Evening of (Very) Old Radio, The Wellspring Centre, WATFORD Fringe Festival
Thu 1st August - The First Religious Broadcast Re-Staged, FRINTON Mission
Thu 19th Sept - An Evening of (Very) Old Radio, MAYFIELD, Sussex - in association with Applause
Thu 3rd Oct - Something about the BBC, Somewhere near Nottingham. TBC!
Sun 3rd Nov (afternoon) - An Afternoon of (Very) Old Radio, SLINFOLD, Sussex - in association with Applause
30th Nov (6pm) - An Evening of (Very) Old Radio, SELLING Village Hall, nr Faversham, Kent - in association with Applause
PREVIOUSLY in 2023-24... These shows are now in the past:
Sat 24th June 2023, 7:30pm - The First Religious Broadcast: Re-staged - All Saints Church, Onslow Village, GUILDFORD
Sat 1st July, 5pm - An Hour of (Very) Old Radio: Auntie Beeb's First Year - The Star Inn, GUILDFORD Fringe Festival
Wed 5th July - An Evening of Comedy & (Very) Old Radio - ROMSEY Methodist Church, Romsey Festival
Sun 24th Sept, 3pm - An Afternoon of (Very) Old Radio - The Tabard Theatre, Turnham Green, W. LONDON
Thu 28th - An Evening of (Very) Old Radio - WATCHET Boat Museum, Somerset (in assoc with Watchet Radio Museum)
Fri 29th - The First Religious Broadcast: Re-Staged, Culverden Evangelical Church, TUNBRIDGE WELLS
Fri 6th Oct - An Evening of (Very) Old Radio - Christ Church URC, CHELMSFORD
Sun 8th Oct - The First Religious Broadcast: Re-staged - KETTERING Arts Centre
Fri 10th Nov - The First Religious Broadcast: Re-staged - Christ Church Evangelical, McDermott Road, PECKHAM (the church where it happened in 1922!)
Sat 20th Jan 2024 - The First Religious Broadcast: Re-staged - Lantern Arts Centre, RAYNES PARK
Thu 25th Jan - An Evening of (Very) Old Radio - NETHER COMPTON Village Hall, Sherborne, Dorset
Fri 26th Jan - An Evening of (Very) Old Radio - WEST STAFFORD Village Hall, Dorchester Dorset
Sat 27th Jan - An Evening of (Very) Old Radio - MARNHULL Village Hall, Sturminster Newton, Dorset
Sun 28th Jan (2:30pm) - An Evening of (Very) Old Radio - STUDLAND Village Hall, Swanage Dorset
Sat 10th Feb, 4:30pm - An Afternoon of (Very) Old Radio, King Richard III Centre, LEICESTER Comedy FestivalAn Afternoon of (Very) Old Radio - LEICESTER Comedy Festival
Sat 9th March - An Evening of (Very) Old Radio, St John's Church, TOTNES, Devon
...Don't know why I listed them really. For the memories. They were fun. Let's do it again some time!
These follow the success of my 2022 tour 'The First Broadcast: The Battle for the Beeb in 1922', for the centenary of British broadcasting. This new show is a sequel of sorts - looking at the first firsts of broadcasting, retelling those tales of what went on air, how and why - lots of great anecdotes about it all... or in the case of a couple of the shows, I'll be recreating the first religious broadcast for an evening. Be informed, educated and above all entertained!
Fancy booking the show for your place?
If you'd like a show/talk/presentation for your venue, there are currently 2 possibles:
1) An Evening of (Very) Old Radio: The First Firsts of British Broadcasting
A show of two halves. Part 1 is a truncated version of The First Broadcast show - ie. the build-up to the Beeb, the feud between Marconi employees Peter Eckersley and Arthur Burrows, culminating in the first BBC broadcast. After a break, part 2 is the first year of the BBC, inc. all the landmark moments: the first music, the first comedian, the first drama, the first children's programme, the first political debate (we'll have fun recreating that one). It's a talk, it's stand-up, it's a show. Inform, educate, entertain.
2) The First Religious Broadcast: Re-staged
For churches, you may prefer this performance that re-enacts the very first religious broadcast in Britain - a short church service transmitted from a factory into a church in Peckham in July 1922. It was all the idea of one pioneer preacher, Dr James Ebenezer Boon... and he wrote a short pamphlet of what happened, how, and the words of his sermon. Hear his message, the hymns and the bizarre under-appreciated true story of how broadcast blessings first began in Britain. It's quite a tale.
The first show - The First Broadcast - toured to Surbiton, Leicester, Banbury, Barnes, London, Bristol, Chandlers Ford, Blandford Forum, Bath, Kettering, St Albans, Worthing, Ludlow, Watchet, Tunbridge Wells, Bedford, Isle of Wight, Bradford, Salford, Guildford and Chelmsford.
Book in a tour date?
If you have a venue or ready-made audience (even a small one), get in touch to book in any of the above shows. I can't wait to bring it to where you are.
These shows are based on the The British Broadcasting Century Podcast. Do subscribe and listen (scroll down for podcast player on this page) and/or find our Facebook group or Twitter page.
And try the podcast right here: