BBC Radio 4 in “broadwebcasting” experiment with Wikipedia inspired comedy

London, UK. This Thursday 23rd July at 11pm BBC Radio 4 will take part in a unique experiment in “broadwebcasting” as it hands over control of its output to Bigipedia, a new four-part radio comedy series. Produced and directed by Pozzitive, Bigipedia is inspired by the online information site Wikipedia, mocking online communications, internet drivel, pop-ups, PC disasters, online mash ups, mobiles, searchboxes, automated reply systems and other aspects of contemporary life online.

The first episode features multiple-overlapping voices to create information “pages”, service announcements, discussion forums and endless bloody upgrades. Creators Nick Doody and Matt Kirshen describe it as “a malevolent mix between Google, Microsoft and Wikipedia taking over Radio 4 for half an hour.”

Bigipedia was written and created by Nick Doody & Matt Kirshen (Armando Iannucci’s Charm Offensive) and is produced and directed by David Tyler at Pozzitive, one of the most prolific comedy production companies on the radio, whose radio credits include Giles Wemmbley Hogg Goes Off, Cabin Pressure, Armando Iannucci’s Charm Offensive and Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation. His TV credits include Paul Merton – The Series, Spitting Image, Absolutely, The Paul Calf Video Diary, Three Fights Two Weddings & A Funeral, Coogan’s Run, Music Hall Meltdown, The Tony Ferrino Phenomenon, Gash, The Comic Side Of 7 Days and exec producing Victoria Wood’s dinnerladies.

“Bigipedia is an all-round 360-degree information portal, made by you, the listener. It’s sort of like Wikipedia on the radio, as if Radio 4 has been taken over by this monstrous Wikipedia-style encyclopaedia of everything,” says Pozzitive’s David Tyler. “It’s very different and I’m not sure whether the world is ready for it yet, but they’re getting it whether they’re ready or not.”