John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme

Last updated

John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme
John Finnemores Souvenir Programme series 3 and 4 CD cover.jpg
CD cover showing the cast, l-r: Carrie Quinlan, Simon Kane, John Finnemore, Lawry Lewin, Margaret Cabourn-Smith
GenreSketch show
Running time30 minutes
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Language(s)English
Home station BBC Radio 4
Starring
Written byJohn Finnemore
Produced by Ed Morrish
Original release2011 (2011)
No. of series9
No. of episodes55
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.

Contents

All nine series have been released on CD.

Format

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.

Recurring sketches

Series 9

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.

Awards

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.

Original broadcasts

SeriesStart dateEnd dateEpisodes
111 September 20119 October 20114
Special22 August 20121
213 September 201218 October 20126
33 September 20138 October 20136
416 October 201420 November 20146
57 January 201611 February 20166
627 December 201631 January 20176
74 January 2018 [6] 8 February 20186
822 May 2019 [2] 26 June 20196
96 May 2021 [7] 10 June 20216
Special27 May 20231
Special27 May 20241

Multimedia

The show has been released in both Audible audiobook format and on CD, with physical releases published by BBC Physical Audio.

ReleaseDate
Series 123 August 2013
Series 25 September 2013
Series 3 & 413 November 2014
Series 57 April 2016
Series 62 March 2017
Series 75 April 2018
Series 819 September 2019
Series 919 August 2021

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Goodies</span> Trio of British comedians known for the TV series of the same name

The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie. The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television comedy show from 1970 until 1982, combining sketches and situation comedy.

I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again was a BBC radio comedy programme that was developed from the 1964 Cambridge University Footlights revue, Cambridge Circus., as a scripted sketch show. It had a devoted youth following, with the live tapings enjoying very lively audiences, particularly when familiar themes and characters were repeated; a tradition that continued into the spinoff show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

BBC Radio 4 Extra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The sister station of BBC Radio 4, it mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes. It is the principal broadcaster of the BBC's spoken-word archive, and as a result the majority of its programming originates from that archive. It also broadcasts extended and companion programmes to those broadcast on Radio 4, and provides a "catch-up" service for certain programmes.

<i>Not the Nine OClock News</i> British television comedy sketch show (1979–1982)

Not the Nine O'Clock News is a British television sketch comedy show which was broadcast on BBC2 from 16 October 1979 to 8 March 1982. Originally shown as a comedy alternative to the Nine O'Clock News on BBC1, it features satirical sketches on then-current news stories and popular culture, as well as parody songs, comedy sketches, re-edited videos, and spoof television formats. The programme features Rowan Atkinson, Pamela Stephenson, Mel Smith, and Griff Rhys Jones, as well as Chris Langham in the first series.

<i>The Now Show</i> British radio comedy show

The Now Show is a British radio comedy programme on BBC Radio 4, which satirises the weekly news from 1998 to 2024. The show is a mixture of stand-up, sketches and songs hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. It features regular appearances by Jon Holmes, Laura Shavin, a monologue by Marcus Brigstocke, and music by Mitch Benn, Pippa Evans or Adam Kay. Later series feature a wider range of contributors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie Cole</span> English stage, television, radio and film actress (born 1941)

Patricia Stephanie Cole is an English stage, television, radio and film actress, known for high-profile roles in shows such as Tenko (1981–1985), Open All Hours (1982–1985), A Bit of a Do (1989), Waiting for God (1990–1994), Keeping Mum (1997–1998), Doc Martin (2004–2009), Cabin Pressure (2008–2014), Still Open All Hours (2013–2019), Man Down (2014–2017) and as Sylvia Goodwin in ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2011–2013).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Davis</span> English actress (born 1966)

Julia Charlotte L. Davis is an English actress, comedian, director and writer. She is known for writing and starring in the BBC Three comedy Nighty Night (2004–2005) and the comedies Hunderby (2012–2015) and Camping (2016), which she also directed. Davis has been noted by critics for creating boundary-pushing black comedy that centres female anti-hero characters.

<i>That Mitchell and Webb Sound</i> BBC Radio 4 Sketch Show

That Mitchell and Webb Sound is a comedy sketch show on BBC Radio 4 which started on 28 August 2003. A second series was broadcast in 2005 with a third starting on 24 May 2007. The series became adapted for television as That Mitchell and Webb Look in 2006. The series is seen in some ways as a follow-up to The Mitchell and Webb Situation, a sketch show shown on Play UK in 2001. That Mitchell and Webb Sound returned to BBC Radio 4 for a fourth series in 2009, the first episode broadcasting on 25 August 2009. A fifth series was announced in September 2013, and began transmission on 26 November 2013.

<i>That Mitchell and Webb Look</i> British sketch comedy show

That Mitchell and Webb Look is a British sketch comedy television series starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb that ran from 2006 to 2010. Many of its characters and sketches were first featured in the duo's radio show That Mitchell and Webb Sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Penny Dreadfuls</span> British sketch comedy troupe

The Penny Dreadfuls are a British sketch comedy troupe consisting of comedians Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck, often supported by Margaret Cabourn-Smith. The troupe are best known for writing and performing The Brothers Faversham and The Penny Dreadfuls Present..., comic plays on BBC Radio 4.

Carrie Quinlan is a British actress and comedy writer, known for her work in theatre, television and radio. She is best known for John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme, and played the lead in Agendum on BBC Radio 4.

<i>Newsjack</i> Satirical sketch show on BBC Radio

Newsjack was a British satirical sketch show which was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra between 2009 and 2021. It was hosted by Miles Jupp, Justin Edwards, Romesh Ranganathan (2014), Nish Kumar (2015–2016), Angela Barnes (2017–2018) and Kiri Pritchard-McLean (2019–2021). It was first broadcast on 4 June 2009. The series was notable for having an "Open door" policy on writing, advertising itself as "the scrapbook sketch show written entirely by the Great British public" meaning that unsolicited writers without contract to the BBC could send in material. The show was designed to give new writers an opportunity to get material broadcast. It was hoped by the people behind the show that it would be a modern version of Week Ending, an earlier sketch show which also accepted material the same way. Most shows were recorded in front of a live audience at the BBC Radio Theatre in Broadcasting House.

<i>Cabin Pressure</i> (radio series) BBC Radio show

Cabin Pressure is a radio sitcom written and created by John Finnemore and directed and produced by David Tyler. It follows the exploits of the eccentric crew of the single aeroplane owned by "MJN Air" as they are chartered to take all manner of items, people or animals across the world. The show stars Finnemore, Stephanie Cole, Roger Allam and Benedict Cumberbatch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Finnemore</span> British comedy writer and actor (born 1977)

John David Finnemore is a British comedy writer and actor. He wrote and performed in the radio series Cabin Pressure, John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme, and John Finnemore's Double Acts, and frequently features in other BBC Radio 4 comedy shows such as The Now Show. Finnemore has won more Comedy.co.uk awards than any other writer, and two of his shows appear in the top ten of the Radio Times' list of greatest ever radio comedies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Cabourn-Smith</span> English comedy actress

Margaret Alice Cabourn-Smith is an English comedy actress and podcaster with appearances on Catastrophe, The IT Crowd, Psychoville, Peep Show, Fresh Meat, Motherland, Daddy Issues and Cheaters.

Lawrence Valdemar Lewin is an English television actor. He appears on the CBBC show Horrible Histories, and featured in the Doctor Who Christmas special "The End of Time".

<i>Horrible Histories</i> (2015 TV series) British sketch comedy childrens television series

Horrible Histories started on CBBC in 2009. It is a multi-award-winning live-action historical and musical sketch comedy television series, based on the bestselling book series of the same name by Terry Deary. Over 11 series there have been changes in format and cast, but the core aim has remained the same - to entertain and educate. The show is produced for CBBC by Lion Television and was in association with Citrus Television for series 3-5.

John Finnemore's Double Acts is a series of radio comedy programmes, written by John Finnemore. It is an anthology series of largely unconnected two-handers.

Simon Kane is a British writer, actor, and associate artist with the Shunt cooperative working in radio, television and theatre. He is the son of actor and writer John Kane and opera singer Alison Warner. His sister, Susy Kane, is also an actor and writer.

Ed Morrish is a British radio comedy producer, joining the BBC as a trainee in 2002.

References

  1. "John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 "BBC Radio 4 - John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme". BBC.
  3. Finnemore, John (13 June 2014). "Souvenir hunting". Forget What Did. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  4. "Comedy.co.uk Awards 2011 - Results". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  5. "2014 Radio Academy Awards: Full Winners". Radio Today. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
  6. "John Finnemore's Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
  7. "BBC Radio 4 - John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme, Series 9, Episode 1". BBC. Retrieved 7 May 2021.