Val and Trev Community Living Room Podcast

Ian Pringle has been working with Beth from Maison Foo with support from Make/Shift to create an audio drama podcast. Beth had created a couple of characters Val and Trev who had been performing at Derbyshire Makes and other events.

 

Valery of The Gallery (Beth) and Trevor The Shedder (Ian) are comedy characters who are attempting, rather clumsily, to engage with their local community. The street shows include some daft performance and workshops hosted “Live” on Trev FM (Trev’s very local radio), imagine a cross between Blue Peter, 1980’s game shows and classic sitcoms like Keeping Up Appearances and you might get the idea.

 

As part of Val’s “Community Living Room” Ian and Beth interviewed lots of community groups with Ian editing these into audio stories and installing them into objects that represent each group, such as a power tool for Men’s Shed and a Sewing Box for Sew Lovely. This project is what inspired their Podcast, Community Living Room Podcast with Val & Trev.

 

Ian, who runs Listening Shelf audio from his studio at Banks Mill, told us about the podcast’s first episode.

 

“We wanted to include storied from the community alongside the sitcom banter of Val and Trev. The premise was that we would invite the listener into the home of Val and Trev and the community would solve the problems they are facing. We wanted our first show to explore the theme of Upcycling so we recorded interviews with people in charity shops and the volunteers at Crich Share and Repair Cafe.

 

The resulting first episode of the podcast is an audio-drama in which Val needs a last minute “Bobby Dazzler” dress for a wedding, while Trev is just desperate for a moments peace so he can finish his jigsaw puzzle. The community (and Trev) help Val overcome her snobbish anxiety about charity shops and give her the skills to make her very own unique dress, that she is certain will be a hit on the wedding dance floor.”

 

Please do take a listen and if you can like and share the episode that would really help us gather more listeners https://community-living-room.captivate.fm/listen