Promotional image for season one of Night Terrace. L-R: Ben McKenzie as Eddie Jones, Jackie Woodburne as Anastasia Black, and Petra Elliott as “Sue”.
After the success of their podcast series Splendid Chaps, a celebration of Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary in 2013, podcasters John Richards and Benjamin McKenzie decided to raise the bar for their next audio project.
The result was Night Terrace, a half-hour narrative sci-fi comedy series starring Neighbours’ Jackie Woodburne as Anastasia Black, a government scientist who used to save the world, but now wants a quiet retirement. She’s understandably miffed when her house unexpectedly starts travelling through space and time.
Inspired by BBC programs like The Goodies and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it was announced this week that series one of Night Terrace will air on BBC Radio 4 Extra from April this year, with the second series airing in August.
‘I’m stunned we went from doing a podcast in Melbourne pubs to having our comedy series on BBC Radio. It’s like we just won an Oscar for pole dancing. I’m a huge fan of radio drama and comedy – due to a long commute I currently listen to more drama than I watch. So it’s a thrill that Anastasia Black is heading to the home of The Goons, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy and that show that used to look at famous pipe organs,’ said head writer John Richards.
‘We came into Night Terrace wanting certain things – we wanted a female lead, we wanted her to be a bit grumpy but also the smartest person in any room. And we wanted it to be distinctly Australian. We wanted it to be big and bold and thoughtful and silly and it’s been all of those things. Jackie Woodburne – or “Susan From Neighbours” as we like to call her – was our only choice to play Anastasia Black and she’s been phenomenal. And we’ve been blessed with an amazing and diverse cast. It’s all been a dream. Oh, is this a dream? This is a dream, isn’t it?’
Two of the series’ co-creators, actor/comedian Ben McKenzie and actor/singer Petra Elliott, join Woodburne on Night Terrace, alongside the likes of comedians Alan Brough, Celia Pacquola and the late, much-missed John Clarke, with cameos from Louise Jameson (Doctor Who’s Leela) and Nicholas Briggs (the voice of the Daleks).
Richards said he had originally contacted the BBC to inquire about the possibility of their purchasing Night Terrace in 2015, after completing the audio comedy’s first series.
‘I sent an email to the BBC to ask about acquisition for Radio 4 Extra because they do purchase outside comedies … but trying to find the right person was the real challenge, as with any arts organisation where people leave every three months and someone else takes over the job – that was the biggest thing, just trying to find the right person to talk to,’ he told ArtsHub.
Ensuring the series was of broadcast quality was not especially difficult, Richards said.
‘The thing about audio is that it’s very cheap to make it sound good. The price difference between a good looking film and a bad-looking film is millions of dollars but the difference between a good-sounding and a bad-sounding audio drama could be a few hundred dollars. Just going into a half-decent studio which might cost you $50 an hour is going to give you a massive difference in quality.’
Richards said he was thrilled to have Night Terrace air on the BBC, which he described as ‘the Hollywood of audio drama’ though he wondered what some British listeners would make of the series’ Australian humour.
‘All of our lives we’ve watched British comedies and heard British comedies and we’ve had to just fudge the cultural references – you have to go, “Oh, I can kind of work out what the joke is there”. And David Ashton, our sound engineer [and co-creator] was saying that with some of Night Terrace, the jokes will make no sense outside of Australia – and some of the jokes will make no sense outside of Melbourne!’ he laughed.
Learn more at nightterrace.com.
