The Dream Factory is the brand new BBC Radio 4 sitcom from comedian Joz Norris and co-writer Miranda Holms.
Otherwise everyday office politics are given a magical and surreal twist in these two, original half hour episodes starring Joz Norris alongside Desiree Burch (Taskmaster; The Horne Section) and Stevie Martin (Late Night Mash; 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown - pictured with Norris).
The Dream Factory is the faceless corporate global franchise that writes, manufactures and distributes all of humanity’s dreams, nightmares, hopes and desires. Their ill-advised new hire is the cheerfully accident-prone and self-involved slacker, Joz (Norris), possibly the last person in the world that should be given responsibility for the contents of other people’s heads.
Joz’s blundering mishaps not only bring him into conflict with his boss Paula (Desiree Burch), a force of nature whose exasperation at the chaos caused by her new recruit is matched only by her bafflement that such a moron can even exist; it also strains his relationship with his best friend Anna (Stevie Martin). One of the Dream Factory’s most reliable (and anxious) employees, Anna wangled Joz his new position and is now horrified that her friend’s behaviour jeopardises his job and her own reputation.
Episode 1 follows Joz on his first day as a Daydream Delivery Boy. Paula tasks him with familiarising himself with the Daydream Archives, but his attempts to remix Anna’s daydreams to increase her confidence have disastrous side-effects.
In Episode 2, a thoughtless remark from Joz drives a wedge between him and Anna just as she is prepping for a big career opportunity. His increasingly fraught attempts to compensate for his mistake ultimately lead to him breaking into his best friend’s head to retrieve a dream that shouldn’t be there.
The cast also features Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Ghosts; Stath Lets Flats); Roisin O’Mahony(Class Dismissed; Ladhood); Chiara Goldsmith (Class Dismissed; Mary Poppins Returns) and Ben Target (Discover Ben Target; Coach Coach; Waiting For Gaddot).
Joz Norris’s previous radio credits include A Small Talk On Small Talk, a solo stand-up/sketch hybrid special set inside his own head that was chosen as a Guardian Audio Pick of the Week; and the comedy discussion show Useless Millennials with Roxy Dunn. Both were produced by Steve Doherty for Giddy Goat Productions (Meet David Sedaris; Prepper; Bravo Two Charlies), with whom he is reunited for The Dream Factory.
Norris and Holms’s last collaboration was the smash hit Edinburgh Fringe show Blink, which received rave reviews, was one of the Evening Standard’s Picks of the Fringe, and transferred to a critically acclaimed run at Soho Theatre. Norris previously won the Comedians’ Choice Award for Best Show at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019, and has been nominated for the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality and the Chortle Award for Best Music & Variety Act.
11PM 13TH & 20TH OCTOBER ON BBC RADIO 4, THEN AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON BBC SOUNDS.
