Listen to 'The Goblin King and Me' on BBC Radio

Broadcast today on Radio 4 and available to stream on BBC Sounds, The Goblin King and Me is a gorgeous 45-minute drama from Bafflegab Productions, written by Paul Magrs. 

Magrs has adapted The Goblin King and Me from his novelette Stardust and Snow, which is itself available as an ebook or limited edition paperback from Obverse Books, and as the first story in Paul's self-published collection Christmassy Tales via Amazon. Based itself on a true story told to the author, it's a beautiful story about the eyes of childhood, learning to live in a world that doesn't understand you, and embracing the magic in life for as long as you can. 

The 10th of January will be the tenth anniversary of David Bowie's death, so this is the perfect time for this story of a special meeting with the star that made a difference to little boy's life. It stars Frankie Treadaway, with support from real-life husband and wife James Bolam and Susan Jameson, with master impressionist Jon Culshaw as Bowie, in all his guises. A lovely late Christmas present.

REVIEW: Grandma Guignol

Bafflegab Productions have just finished an eight-epiosde run of their new podcast, Grandma Guignol. Well, it's not entirely new; the podcast is a new format for the audio series The Brenda and Effie Mysteries, written by Paul Magrs and based on his successful series of novels. As the series was criminally overlooked, Bafflegab have given it a new lease of life, and it is now available here on iTunes. You can download the episodes or get them up on your podcast app or however you like to listen to them.

If there was ever a series that deserved more recognition, it's this. The story of the Bride of Frankenstein, now running a B&B in sleepy seaside town (and goth capital) Whitby, and her best friend, the aged witch and antiques dealer Effie. The story of ancient mummies, the story elephantine descendants of the London Monster, the story of the dreaded Crispy Cat! All told with Magrs's signature wit and aplomb.

The series stars Anne Reid as both Brenda and Effie (Last Tango in Halifax, Upstairs Downstairs, Coronation Street, A Close Shave, and multiple roles in Doctor Who, including a vampire, meaning she need only play a werewolf to round out the classic movie monster trifecta). Telling the story from Brenda's point of view, it is initially focused on her new life in Whitby, but by the final episode drifts back along Brenda's long and varied life. She's had periods working as a maid to Magrs's C. S. Lewis counterpart Reg Tyler (from The Fellowship of the Ink and Doctor Who: Mad Dogs and Englishmen), a spell as the headline act in a freakshow (palling around with Joseph Merrick) and much more besides.

There are guest roles for the likes of Dan "Strax" Starkey, Chris Pavlo, Alex Lowe and Stephen Critchlow, but this is Reid's production. She gives a wistful performance as Brenda, losing herself in her memories and granting them just as much life as her nocturnal escapades with Effie. In spite of the bizarre Gothic goings on, the stories spend as much time on everyday concerns and idle gossip as they do on supernatural mysteries. Brenda never misses the opportunity to comment on the quality of her lunch or pass busybody judgment on Whitby's eccentric inhabitants.

Anyone who has dipped into Paul Magrs's world with his Iris Wildthyme or Phoenix Court novels, or his many Doctor Who stories, should definitely check out Brenda's adventures, and any fan of magic realism, cosy supernatural stories or old-fashioned adventures should give it a try. Halfway between Hammer Horror and Alan Bennett, you'll find Grandma Guignol. Hopefully it will be popular enough to warrant a second series.

Image copyright Paul Hanley

REVIEW: Vince Cosmos: Glam Rock Detective

She’s a young girl from the north, trying to make her way in the big city. He’s a pretentious, sexually ambiguous rock star who might just be telling the truth when he claims to have come from another planet. Naturally, they make a fabulous team.

Paul Magrs has created yet another fun and frivolous set of characters in Vince Cosmos: Glam Rock Detective. Vince has actually appeared before; he popped up in both Enter Wildthyme and Magrs’s story ‘Hang Onto Yourself,’ in Obverse Books’ Bowie-flavoured release Lady Stardust. This was later, of course. Now it’s 1972, The Curse of Peladon is on the telly, and Vince Cosmos is gearing up to release his latest album and set the glam world on fire. As long as the Martians don’t get him first.

Bafflegab – the audiobook production company formerly known as Cosmic Hobo – bring Vince and his comrades to life in what is, I hope, the first in a series of cosmic chronicles. Vince is played by the irresistible Julian Rhind-Tutt, but he isn’t the star of his own show. This is Poppy Munday’s story. Lauren Kellegher brings Poppy to charming life as she tells the story of how she came to meet her glam rock idol and be drawn into his absurd world. Not that her world is that sensible to begin with; this is a reality in which the War of the Worlds is historical fact, and unless Vince can stop them, they silver-eyed Martians are set to conquer the Earth once and for all. Vince, an unapologetic synthesis of David Bowie and Iris Wildthyme, is a performer who can spout nonsense about his inspiration being dragged out from the galactic ether, and might even be speaking the truth. But probably not. Poppy is the perfect foil, starstruck but practical and simply adorable.

With a gorgeous seventies-inspired soundtrack provided by Edwin Sykes and Paul Morris, note-perfect performances from a cast that includes Katy Manning, David Benson, Alex Lowe and Margaret Cabourn-Smith, and Paul Magrs’s beguiling turns of phrase, this new release is tremendous fun. Given the option, pay a few extra quid and get the CD over the download – it’s worth it for Stuart Manning’s wonderfully retro case design. I very much hope that there are more adventures from this starman on the way.