Review by Steve Bennett

This half-hour play taps into that perennial fascination, combined with the Australian deification of The Goodies, to ponder what might have happened had Bill Oddie quit the group at the height of their success. He always wanted to be a pop star more than a comedian, so it’s certainly feasibly that he could have walked out on Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden when they were riding high in the singles chart.

The oddly titled A Record Or An OBE sees the remaining Goodies ponder their future, knocking about a few ideas for a post-Oddie series. Their zippy dialogue gives some superficial analysis of the dynamic of the triple-act, but mostly seems an excuse for writer Ben McKenzie to indulge in desire to write an actual Goodies script. His premise for a bizarre ghost-hunting episode is certainly in the spirit of the original, bursting with daft ideas, and a odd commercial break midway through the play continues in the same vein.

McKenzie also plays Garden, and he certainly looks and acts the part. Co-star Rob Lloyd resembles David Tennant more than Tim Brooke-Taylor, but still convinces with his attitude. He exudes a desperate neediness, as the only one of the trio who didn’t also write, he has more to lose from the break-up.

As a show, A Record Or An OBE is a slight affair. Not only is it brief, but by taking Oddie out of the situation, the main source of tension has gone. It seems like the third act of a longer play we haven’t seen, properly charting the partnership’s acrimonious collapse.

It offers an entertaining ‘what if’ diversion, but is neither full-blown homage, nor a strong drama in its own rights. But there are surely enough die-hard Goodies fans in this country who would be unconcerned about that.

Reviewed by: Steve Bennett

Review date: 1 Apr 2008
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett