Review: THE ARCHERS: LIVE AT 75, New Wimbledon Theatre
A live Archers cast celebrates the show's 75th anniversary in a highly entertaining fashion
Like being a devoted Swiftie or bagging tickets for the Oasis Reunion Tour, I'm proud to be part of the audience at New Wimbledon Theatre to see The Archers: Live at 75. We might not be of the same ilk as young 'uns at Big Feastival or We Out Here. With our ages ranging from about 40 to 90, security guards on the door are more likely to find books from the local Waterstones up the street rather than offensive weapons in our Sainsbury's Reusable Bags for Life.
And yet, we're just like superfans of a rock band, who instead of desiring guitar solos and crowd surfing are here to see our Ambridge heroes, buy a Jude's mint choc ice cream in the interval and treat ourselves to an I'd Rather Be in Ambridge tea towel on the way out.
What a way to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the world's longest-running radio drama, I hear you say. But don't knock it. It works somewhere between seeing your favourite pop star and a QI elf. Nerdy but nice.
Photo credit: Carsten Windhorst
The structure of the show is tight and cleverly thought through (caps off to director Steve Doherty). Excellent stand-up/occasional presenter of The Archers Podcast Angela Barnes kicks off with a monologue offering a rundown of the show's history and then interviews four Archers actors. Also, there's an interactive Bull pub quiz (oh the irony of getting an older demographic to use QR codes and vote by phone), demos by spot sound effects guru Vanessa Nuttall and specially written episodes performed live.
Tonight, we have the Flower Cast (on other nights you might meet the Produce Cast), consisting of Tim Bentinck (David Archer), BEN NORRIS (Ben Archer), Charlotte Martin (Susan Carter) and Annabelle Dowler (Kirsty Miller). People around us ooh and ahh about how cool a bangled and booted Martin looks and isn't young Ben well, young. My daughter and I admire Dowler's beaver apron (where can we get one?).
Highlights of the evening include well put together montages of famous people saying how much The Archers has influenced them. Alan Titchmarsh says his wife told him she'd only consider he'd "made it" when he appeared on The Archers. And he does finally get to judge the Ambridge Best Garden Competition. My favourite segment is rapper Doc Brown calling Ambridge "a modern-day Soweto".
Clips of key scenes bring a Pavlovian response from the audience hearing Nigel Pargetter's death, that steamy shower scene with Sid Perks and Jolene Rogers, and Kate Madikane just being Kate. I don't think I've seen so much engagement before from an audience that reacts instinctively to something that is a core part of their day and their lives.
Photo credit: Carsten Windhorst
Bentinck says he's been with the show for 44 years and was nearly fired twice (once for accidentally donating the script of an episode for charity that hadn't aired yet). Dowler explains how kissing your hand is the best way to get a realistic radio smacker and Norris tells a story about Patricia Greene, who played his granny Jill Archer, becoming his substitute grandmother after his real gran dies before he starts working on the show.
The audience gasps when discovering the actors are not on retainers and there are sometimes big gaps when they don't appear – and don't get paid. This snapshot of how precarious an actor's life can be is emphasised by Dowler, whose storyline kept changing when editors came and went. Actors can be written out and only discover they're being killed off when they get the latest batch of scripts.
However, we get glimpses of what else they do to pay the rent. Martin's a psychologist and Body Pump instructor. Norris, a cross-country athlete who was picked for Team GB, recently had an acclaimed show, The Distance, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. And Dowler explains how your agent negotiates to avoid the final recording slot of the day, so you can get back in time to a theatre where you're appearing that night.
Photo credit: CarstenWindhorst
The Archers carried on during Covid, even if it meant actors recording in duvet-muffled cupboards. Norris made a pact with his home-working flatmates to not use the loo for several hours while he recorded his parts. Martin hung up a rather forceful note telling her children to be quiet or they would lose access to BBC iPlayer for the rest of lockdown. Unfortunately, it went viral and the tabloids printed "actress threatens children" headlines.
My daughter, who accompanies me, has inherited a certain degree of my Archers' fanaticism. She says it was on when she did her homework and I included news of Archers' characters in updates about family life, as if they were real people, when she was at university.
She's mildly traumatised by pictures of The Archers' studio shown on screen, with a gaffer-taped wooden structure that serves as The Bull counter and various kitchen tables. "It's certainly not Hollywood with special effects," she says, while equally appreciating the comforting and normal ordinariness of something untouched by AI.
Nuttall's human ingenuity to create "live" sound effects on a limited budget is also appreciated: opening an ironing board to mimic a squeaky gate, shoving a boot in a washing machine to emulate a turkey-plucking machine, producing the sound of shaving by scraping foam across a washing-up scourer, and biting crisps to represent Ben's sheepdog, Bess, eating them.
Photo credit: Carsten Windhorst
We're reminded that The Archers is a touchstone that reflects society and shows where we are as a nation. It cuts across age, class and difference. Martin reenacts her "topical insert" (when a reference to a news event is slipped last-minute into the show) where Susan talks casually in the shop about Saddam Hussein being toppled.
Alongside these world concerns is escapism. This is a "contemporary drama in a rural setting," where sheep are born and lemon drizzle cakes are baked and people walk up Lakey Hill. And despite our regard for the actors on tonight's stage, there is no one star. The Archers is the star.
The Archers: Live at 75 tours until 26 November
Photo credits: Carsten Windhorst
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