Gig review by Steve Bennett at the Brighton Fringe

John Dredge and Andy Harland are clearly steeped in radio comedy history, with their quirky DredgeLand Podcast Spectacular having loud echoes of many great shows of the past.

Uncharitably, you could call it a poor man’s Radio Active. Not only does Harland have a ironic tone somewhere between Angus Deayton and the late Geoffrey Perkins, whose voices defined the 1980s original, it’s also a spoof radio programme with peculiar presenters and segments that offer an odd twist on real broadcast staples.

But despite the clear influence, their homage offers its own silly contributions to this particularly knowing style of surreal-tinged spoof. A style that’s admittedly fallen a little out of fashion since its late 1980s heyday, but still has its fans.

An alleged simulcast with fictional Hove FM 95.3, the programme is a half-parody of local radio staples, with phone-ins trailed with Partridgesque questions such as ‘What’s the hottest you’ve ever been?’ (Although it sounds like parody, I once heard a late-night host genuinely ask listeners: ‘Have you every fallen into a body of water?’)

There are awkwardly convoluted catchphrases, needlessly long jingles and incomprehensible competitions such as Brainfreeze, which make Numberwang seem like the epitome of clarity. And alongside Mitchell & Webb, Alan Partridge and Radio Active we can add On The Hour as an influence, thanks to their closing look at tomorrow’s headlines such as ‘Elongated horse confuses elderly’.

Yet despite sticking to proven formats pioneered by others, the pair prove themselves strong writers, who could surely have got gags on to the very shows they are paying homage to here. Their jokes – frequently unapologetically cheesy – more than compensate for their limitations as slightly stilted live performers, too. And although they deliver with a straight bat, their delight at the daftness they peddle is endearing.

Review date: 2 Jun 2018
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Brighton Caxton Arms