URY: Going Solar

“Leigh-on-Sea’s a small place. There’s only so many houses to install solar panels on, if you catch my drift. What I’m offering you is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in a unique and exciting market.”

“Which is?”

“Scotland!”

So begins new URY sitcom Going Solar. Winning the ‘South Essex Alternative Energy Providers of the Year Award’ would be a crowning achievement in the lives of most, but for Philip Hardcastle it’s really just the beginning. On the heels of his success, he’s invited to ply his trade – installing solar panels – in Scotland’s rainiest village, Fort Dunleavy.

If that seems like a challenge, it turns out to be the least of Philip’s worries as he juggles gossiping Scottish biddies, dying business partners, villagers so set in their ways that they “won’t even watch BBC2”, and budding romance. Oh, and then there’s Daniel, Philip’s reluctantly chosen protégé, who has a heart of gold but struggles with two-figure numbers.

There are no stock characters here, though – people and scenes are sketched closely and skilfully, and obvious gags or set-pieces are avoided. The five-part series was written by James Bugg – himself an award winner, from the National Student Radio Awards for last year’s runaway URY success, The More Beautiful Game – and produced by John Wakefield.

If you’re a regular in the Drama Barn you’ll recognise some of the cast, including the vocal talents of Freddy Elletson as the charmingly awkward Philip, and Louis Lunts as sidekick Daniel. Greg Ebdon and Emma Gallagher both offer strong performances as, respectively, the shifty mayor and aloof barmaid that buffet Philip from one unfortunate situation to the next.

It’s an unusual idea for a radio show, but a very welcome one. In a university that can count illustrious dramatists and actors among its alumni, it’s a good idea to keep the trend going by encouraging the good stuff, and Going Solar is certainly that. Recommended.

Going Solar airs on ury.org.uk tomorrow, Sunday 27th May, at 3pm until 3.20pm, and every subsequent Sunday until week 9 (or tune in on your radio on 1350 AM).