The Attendant

Summary

A brilliant and bonkers comedy about finding love at the petrol pumps

Alex is desperate to find someone to share his life with, but too scared to do anything about it. A film obsessive, he works the night shift at an isolated petrol station on the outskirts of a two-bit town. Awkward, and with no real friends to speak of, he confides in his only ‘colleague’ - a smiley-faced vacuum cleaner named Keith, whose voice only Alex can hear.
Ella is a cycling-mad woman of action, prepared for anything and curious about everything. One stormy night, by chance, their lives intersect. These two lonely souls are made for each other, even if they don't know it.
Listen and fall in love with the pair as their story unfolds. A wonderful, heart-warming and unconventional love story with a touch of the absurd and plenty of laughs. Influenced heavily by the best movie genres film-nerd Alex can think of, his nights take some usual twists and turns. Episodes range from Westerns where the stake are high and loners drift like tumbleweed, to Zombie Horror with infected hordes and red rain, Sci-Fi evil twins and ray guys and all out Action when the petrol station is taken over and the duo must decide who is the most ‘Van Damme’ –making this a hilarious, compelling and uplifting listen.
Starring Will Merrick (Skins), Patricia Allison (Sex Education) and Kenneth Collard (Cuckoo, Zapped).
The Cullen Brothers (Oliver and Jake) are award winning directors, writers and producers from Bristol. The pair blend their love of cinema with their distinctive, absurd and irreverent comedic style. The Attendant radio series is based on their internationally acclaimed short film of the same name starring Robert James-Collier (Downton Abbey) and Isy Suttie (Peep Show).
Cast and credits
Written by The Cullen Brothers
Directed by Alison Crawford
Edited by Abigail Youngman
Produced by Alison Crawford and Mary Ward-Lowery
Sound Designer Ilse Lademann
Includes original music by Tom Constantine
Alex/Second Creation/Evil Alex - Will Merrick
Ella/Female Creation/Evil Ella - Patricia Allison
Keith/Evil Keith/‘How To…’ Tapes - Kenneth Collard
The Drifter - Zara Ramm
Slops McCreedy - Jake Cullen
Jonny Tenaka - Tim Downie
Barry Oatcakes - Joseph Tweedale
Denise / Evil Denise - Ingrid Oliver
Brubaker Levine - John MacKay
Bonkers - Joe Sims
First Broadcast BBC Radio 4, 7 October - 4 November 2021
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