Writer: Paul Kerensa
Paul Kerensa is a radio-nerd’s nerd. You’re unlikely to wander into his show, An Evening of (Very) Old Radio, unless you’re already a paid-up fan of BBC radio. You might possibly have also been hoping for a comedy show, but Kerensa puts us right: this is stand-up history. There are laughs along the way; however, Kerensa’s comedy credentials include working with Lee Mack and Miranda Hart.
This touring show, playing for two nights at the Camden Fringe, is a genial account of the birth of broadcast radio. We’re filled in on the early technology, from the first telegraph in 1844 to the arrival of Marconi in 1896. The first speech broadcast, however, was not until 1906. This potted history is followed by some very entertaining glimpses into early ideas about what exactly should and could be broadcast. Most of us probably didn’t know that the government banned these early attempts at entertainment in 1922 for fear they were interfering with essential broadcasts for shipping and aeroplanes.
Kerensa has certainly done his homework, and so is able to make a case for a woman, Gertrude Donisthorpe, as Britain’s first DJ. Well – she played a record on air, at least. And there’s a droll story about Dame Nellie Melba. But the key figures, as we might expect, are men.
Arthur Burrows was the first voice of the BBC in 1918. The funniest moment in the show is hearing his rival, one Peter Eckersley, who in 1922 spontaneously took control of the microphone and filled the airwaves with a surreal unscripted 90 minutes, in the course of which he performed all the voices in a spoof Italian opera. Over time, he continued to wind up Burrows, including playing his own home-made version of the bongs of Big Ben (sadly, there’s no recording of this, so Kerensa improvises with kitchen implements).
The show is filled with fun facts, but it doesn’t feel like it has the potential to turn Kerensa’s fantasy of a six-part TV series into reality.
Reviewed on 6 August 2025, then on tour
Camden Fringe runs until 24 August 2025
