Electric Ink - Series 2 - Episode 1

By Alistair Beaton and Tom Mitchelson. A comic satire set in the struggling world of newspapers. Maddox has lost the job of news editor and now faces being sued. Maddox ..... John Sessions Oliver ..... Alex Jennings Freddy ..... Stephen Wight Carol ..... Polly Frame Masha ..... Debbie Chazen Keith ..... Sam Dale Producer ..... Sally Avens Alistair Beaton and Tom Mitchelson's satire is set in the world of modern newspapers. A group of dysfunctional journalists attempt to cover major news stories at the same time as grappling with the demands of working in a multi-platform environment, watching circulation figures plummet and the recession causing half the workforce to be laid off. At the heart of the comedy is the relationship between Maddox Bradley, a journalist who mourns the day of proper investigative journalism, and Freddy, the online editor who will regurgitate a press release quite happily and call it a story. But they have a grudging respect for the each other as Freddy helps Maddox stay afloat in the world of Twitter, Facebook and podcasting and Maddox shows Freddy how to sniff out the real story. Both are at the mercy of Oliver, the pragmatic Editor more concerned with keeping his job, and Carol, the news editor who believes that circulation will increase if they run pieces on Big Mac eating orang-utans and 'intelligent' skunks rather than Maddox's moral crusading diatribes. And only Masha, the Russian head of online communities, who wants to give away all their content because that is true democracy, knows Freddy's secret; that he's a posh boy from Eton rather than a hypercool kid from the street; well that's what Freddy thinks anyway. Alistair Beaton is one of our best known political satirists. He won the Evening Standard comedy award for his play 'Feelgood', was a founding member of 'Not The Nine O'clock News' and also wrote 'A Very Social Secretary' and ' The Trial of Tony Blair' for television. Tom Mitchelson is a writer and journalist. John Sessions takes on the role of Maddox Bradley. John is best known for his improvisation work on Whose Line is It Anyway and Stella Street. Stephen Wight was last seen in Whites on BBC2 and won the Evening Standard Award for Best Newcomer in 2007. He recently appeared at the National Theatre in The Habit of Art alongside Alex Jennings. Polly Frame was most recently seen in Earthquakes in London at the National and Debbie Chazen is currently on tour with Calendar Girls.