TV & Radio

Podcast of the week: Eglantine Whitechapel: Supernatural Detective

Madcap, kitschy caper from London-based comedy troupe Kill The Beast

London-based comedy troupe Kill The Beast

Sarah Griffin
Sat Oct 6 2018 - 05:00

An ambitious, madcap project from London-based comedy troupe Kill The Beast. I listened to the pilot three times over to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. This is a pacy, high-voltage show, with far more than the measure of energy usually reserved for podcasts. It’s 25 minutes of high-focused madness, and I loved it.

Eglantine Whitechapel is a spy, and we meet her in 1954 during her last hours in university. During her graduation she's faced with a crisis and proves herself slightly useless. There are unfolding secrets, romantic drama, and a literal ticking timebomb. Some stylistic features here belong to a form of audio-drama that doesn't often surface in contemporary podcasting – the sound effects have a lovely kitsch, vintage feel. There is something of The Thrilling Adventure Hour in the performances, which is no bad thing – every performer is selling their role entirely and seems to be having an excellent time positively roaring their lines to each other at breakneck pace – this energy is incredibly funny.

The writing is unusually quick –  not unlike the level of attention to detail that makes Wooden Overcoats such an outstanding work in the form. There are jokes every other sentence, but none are given pause for laughter. There's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it quality to this kind of work, but it isn't at all smug or pleased with itself, which is refreshing.

Tonally, it's as though Jilly Cooper wrote an episode of Archer – ludicrous, wealthy spies taking shots at one another and reluctantly solving mysteries along the way. The period setting is almost pantomime, and permits an extra level of camp in the performances.

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Currently there is only one episode available, but I’ll be waiting with bated breath for what happens next. There’s something in the energy of this work that holds the promise for an offbeat cult classic podcast.