REVIEW – I love Green Guide Letters with Steele Saunders
Do not be intimidated by the bunker-like venue or the crowd of merchandise-sporting fans. There’s a reason this podcast has a large following. Presented by Steele Saunders, three comedians take to the microphones to discuss letters written by the public to the Age newspaper’s Thursday insert and media guide The Green Guide. The audience don’t know who the guests will be until they walk into the room, but be assured they will be high calibre Australian comedy personalities. Previous guests include Dave Thornton, Peter Helliar, Tom Gleeson, Frank Woodley, John Safran, Greg Fleet (it’s a long list).
The premise of the show is a thinly veiled excuse to talk about Australian free to air television. Chock full of pop culture references and humorous anecdotes, the show is a spring board for conversational improvisation that is a delight to watch. Saunders is a perfect host with an impeccable laugh who guides the podcast along with infectious joviality. He knows how to combine the live show with the recording, providing explanations of some visual jokes for listeners and letting some slide as an extra for the audience. The only issue is the occasional callback to a joke from a previous episode of the podcast, but it is infrequent and if anything, it inspires the new audience members to become listeners.
I Love Green Guide Letters is on every Saturday of the Festival.
