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A wealth of new comedy sketches, plays and sitcoms are being aired on Riverside FM 87.7.  Comedy producer Marc Blake has been working with local writers, actors and comedians to develop a series of original shows for Riverside FM.  Under the umbrella of ëThe Comedy Apprentice', he has for the past four months been working with up to 40 students to produce five hours of original comedy for Riverside FM. 

A veteran of the stand up circuit, Marc's credits include Marc Blake and Friends, on ITV, and his BBC Radio series Whining for England.  He currently teaches comedy writing at City University. He will be presenting two new works for Riverside:  Victor and Albert is a sitcom set in Victorian England, about a pair of warring medical brothers, which he describes as "Frasier with scalpels."  Secondly, Hawkingís Half Hour is 30 minutes of offensive anti-PC comedy.  "If you like your comedy raw and taboo busting, then this is the show for you," he says.

Marc turned to writing full time in 1996. Since then he has published three comic novels: Sunstroke, Big time and 24 Karat Schmooze.  His first TV drama, THE SWAP, was aired in February 2002.  A two-part ITV thriller, it starred Jemma Redgrave and Michael Maloney. He has also written for Spitting image, Frankie Howerd - and other comedy stars "too numerous or embarrassing to mention".

Comedy for Riverside FM 2002

• Itís a Wonderful Lift may be an appalling pun but the show is hysterical. Created by Jacqueline Cloake and Sonya Vine, it provides 427 stories of comedy and has a real female skewed sensibility.
• Chris Baylis and Jon Swingler are stuck with GLUE, a bizarre mix of the weird, the wonderful and the wacky. 
• Then thereís David Warnerís World of Sense ñ an equally sublime blend of the arcane and the outright strange. This one is written and performed by Marcus Gearey, Andy McCormack and David Barr. 
• Topical Storm, is the brainchild of Adrian Sandy, Nick Kafka and Mark Agathangelo. A news based broken comedy show, it features many sketches by the cast and other students and features the venal presenting duo, Ricky and Katie Dee, who make Richard and Judy look like third rate daytime TV presenters.
• In the character comedy slot, thereís "For the Love of God" which is the only sitcom youíll ever hear coming from a Tasmanian Nunnery. This and "Time Owt," (a comedy play about a northern lassís struggles in London) are written and created by Naomi Doyle and Diane Barley.
• "Listen with Mutha," by Joanne Waterman, is about an ancient hippie and her nebbish barrister son
• Mark Agathangeloís "Mess" concerns the trials and tribulations of a brother and sister in Londonís only Polish/Greek restaurant. Wannabe, by Jacqueline Cloake, tells the tale of three friends searching for digs in WC1. 
• Finally, Chris Cook's "Open Gob" is a spoof chat show. 

All above shows were written under the auspices of Marcís Comedy Apprentice scheme and were produced by Marc Blake and Keith Wickham.

• And on Thursday nights, Louise Lawson and Jennifer Banks present The Daft Apeths. Two northern lasses present their own special brand of live and pre-recorded comedy, including such gems as I Love the dark ages and Sex in T'City.

Comedy sketches, plays and sitcoms
The comedy hour is 10-11pm Mondays-Wednesdays