How many ingredients does it take to make a spellbinding podcast? Victoriocity is a mixture of so many genres, one might describe it as a hilarious comedy detective historic science-fiction steampunk murder mystery adventure. However you describe it, it is fabulously good fun.

The action takes place in an alternative Victorian England, one in which electricity is broadcast wirelessly from a giant tower in the centre of Even Greater London (which spreads over the whole of southern England), guarded by a sinister set of alternatively evolved Yeoman Warder Beefeaters. When the great scientific architect of the tower, Dr Salik (Richard Soames), is found dead, the hunt for murderer and motive is on. Plucky nouvelle investigative journalist Clara Entwhistle (Layla Katib) vies with plodding Inspector Fleet (Tom Crowley) to unearth the truth. Their search leads them through the curious highways and byways of this crazy alternative universe.

The launch event for this new comedy podcast was a sell-out, and the audience loved it. Writers Chris and Jen Sugden have assembled a magnificent and marvellously diverse cast of actors and comedians to play the magnificent and marvellously diverse range of characters they have created, all quite Dickensian in their eccentricity and memorability.The writing is densely comic, ingenious, imaginative, and inventive. The cast, all onstage in a row throughout as at a BBC radio recording, were clearly enjoying every minute of the script afresh themselves as they performed it live. And it truly is a star-studded cast: in addition to many of our favourite local performers, credits include Gemma Arrowsmith, Christian Flint, Ben Galpin, George McLean, Molly Beth Morossa, Peter Rae, Jackie Smith-Wood, among others.

Episodes 1 and 2 are currently available at www.victoriocity.com/listen/ and there will be four more half-hour episodes of this ingenious and highly professional local production released over the next four weeks. Enjoy!