The Radio Show must go on!

With the recent successful rescue of Radio 6 Music still resounding across Britain, ARC hosts WastedINK’s production, Scraping the Barrel, the tale of Radio Zeitgeist pulling out all the stops and pulling in all the big names in a bid to save itself from the archives of radio history.

Scraping the Barrel follows hapless radio producer, Jed Ranger’s risky decision to produce a live radio play in order to save his beloved station. With all but one of his actors remaining after the rest walked out, Jed enlists the help of Hollywood Mega Star Teddy Berry to join resident actor, Billy Smith, in order to create a magic airwaves formula against a ticking clock.

Based in Stockton and Middleborough, Danny Ward, Glen Fawcett, Paul Armstrong and Lynsey Nellis make up WastedINK, a company which prides itself on producing comedy theatre that incorporates the audience in an interactive way.

Inspired originally by sound effects in radio dramas and the work of Foley artists on film, WatedINK wanted to place these usually unseen procedures at the forefront of proceedings. With this in mind, a radio station became the ideal setting.

The members list Monty Python, Mel Brooks, Bottom and Faulty Towers amongst their main influences, and director Glen admits that the range of comedic muses meant that, ‘the devising process was not straight forward.’ He says:

‘When our styles and influences merged with our original inspirations, the absurd and farcical, fast-paced comedy play that is Scraping the Barrel was the inevitable outcome.’

WastedINK’s tour of the North East will see its finale much further north, to Scotland with a scheduled eight day appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s Laughing Horse @ Espionage venue.

WastedINK’s performance at ARC gives Tees Valley audiences an unmissable opportunity to tune into their local airwave of homegrown comedic talent, before it inevitably whisked away for the enjoyment of the rest of the UK.