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Genre | Sketch show |
---|---|
Running time | 30 minutes |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Language(s) | English |
Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
Starring | |
Written by | John Finnemore |
Produced by | Ed Morrish |
Original release | 2011 |
No. of series | 9 |
No. of episodes | 55 |
Opening theme | "Do It Your Own Way" by The Voodoo Trombone Quartet |
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is a sketch comedy series broadcast on BBC Radio 4. [1] John Finnemore is the sole writer and performs with Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin and Carrie Quinlan. The first series was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2011, and further series have followed annually. [2] [3] A special edition recorded at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe was broadcast in 2012. A 45-minute special containing new material was broadcast on 27th May 2023 and a second was broadcast in 2024.
All nine series have been released on CD.
Each episode of Souvenir Programme is made up of largely unconnected sketches, often either dealing with awkward social situations or comic takes on classic literature, history, fairy tales, or children's stories. Most episodes have a running sketch that recurs a few times throughout, such as an episodic story about the Royal Army training cats as navigators during World War II. Comedic songs often appear with lyrics by Finnemore and music by show pianist Susannah Pearse and cellist Sally Stares.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ninth series, broadcast in 2021, was not performed before a live audience or accompanied by live music. The series focused on five generations of a family and their collective lore and traditions (such as the song "Woof, Woof, Woof Goes the Wolfhound") whose developments and origins are explored in and connect several scenes across different episodes. The series' main characters were Russ Golding (Lewin), Deborah Golding née Wilkinson (Cabourn-Smith), Jeremy 'Jerry' Wilkinson (Kane), Vanessa Wilkinson née Noone (Quinlan) and Oswald 'Uncle Newt' Nightingale (Finnemore). The sketch format was modified, with the first five episodes focusing on each of the main characters with scenes from their lives being depicted in reverse order, whilst the sixth depicts their shared experiences told in nonlinear order. Homages are made to the original format, namely 'Uncle Newt' who is analogous with Finnemore's storyteller character, having told stories to Russ, Deborah and Jerry (the latter as a poem) as children, starting them with the catchphrase "Well, since you ask me for...", having been prompted by Vanessa, when she was a child, to learn how to tell stories as an uncle should.
A pilot programme with a different supporting cast, titled John Finnemore, Apparently, was broadcast in 2008, starring Tom Goodman-Hill and Sarah Hadland. Many of the sketches in the pilot were subsequently remade for the series.
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme was voted Best British Radio Sketch Show in the British Comedy Guide Awards 2011. [4] In 2014, it was awarded Silver for Best Comedy at the Radio Academy Awards. [5] It was also shortlisted for Best Radio Comedy in the 2014 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards.
Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 11 September 2011 | 9 October 2011 | 4 |
Special | 22 August 2012 | 1 | |
2 | 13 September 2012 | 18 October 2012 | 6 |
3 | 3 September 2013 | 8 October 2013 | 6 |
4 | 16 October 2014 | 20 November 2014 | 6 |
5 | 7 January 2016 | 11 February 2016 | 6 |
6 | 27 December 2016 | 31 January 2017 | 6 |
7 | 4 January 2018 [6] | 8 February 2018 | 6 |
8 | 22 May 2019 [2] | 26 June 2019 | 6 |
9 | 6 May 2021 [7] | 10 June 2021 | 6 |
Special | 27 May 2023 | 1 | |
Special | 27 May 2024 | 1 |
The show has been released in both Audible audiobook format and on CD, with physical releases published by BBC Physical Audio.
Release | Date |
---|---|
Series 1 | 23 August 2013 |
Series 2 | 5 September 2013 |
Series 3 & 4 | 13 November 2014 |
Series 5 | 7 April 2016 |
Series 6 | 2 March 2017 |
Series 7 | 5 April 2018 |
Series 8 | 19 September 2019 |
Series 9 | 19 August 2021 |
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