John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme
|
CD cover showing the cast, l-r: Carrie Quinlan, Simon Kane, John Finnemore, Lawry Lewin, Margaret Cabourn-Smith | |
| Genre | Sketch show |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Writer(s) | John Finnemore |
| Producer(s) | Ed Morrish |
| Air dates | since 2011 |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 29 |
| 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. All four series to date have also been released on CD.
The series contains sketches and character monologues, with only one major recurring character, a storyteller who narrates a tall tale in the last five minutes of most programmes, and who also provides the show's only recurring catchphrase, opening each story with "Well, since you ask me for...". The only other recurring character between episodes is an interviewer played by Carrie Quinlan named Patsy Straightwoman who is deliberately given no significant characteristics except for an awareness of her role as a "feed", which she sardonically remarks upon at the beginning of each sketch. All episodes from the fourth onwards include a comic song with words by Finnemore and music by Susannah Pearse. Each series has one sketch parodying the BBC Radio 4 series The Archers, portraying the show as it supposedly sounds to people who do not listen to it.
A pilot programme with a different supporting cast, titled John Finnemore, Apparently, was broadcast in 2008. Many of the sketches in the pilot were subsequently remade for the series.
The fifth series was broadcast starting on 7 January 2016 on Radio 4.
Awards
John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme was voted Best British Radio Sketch Show in the British Comedy Guide Awards 2011. In 2014, it was awarded Silver for Best Comedy at the Radio Academy Awards.[4] It was also shortlisted for Best Radio Comedy in the 2014 Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards.
Original broadcasts
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 September 2011 | 09 October 2011 | 4 |
| Special | 22 August 2012 | 1 | |
| 2 | 13 September 2012 | 18 October 2012 | 6 |
| 3 | 03 September 2013 | 08 October 2013 | 6 |
| 4 | 16 October 2014 | 20 November 2014 | 6 |
| 5 | 07 January 2016 | 11 February 2016 | 6 |
References
- ↑ "John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme".
- ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme". BBC.
- ↑ Finnemore, John (June 13, 2014). "Souvenir hunting". Forget What Did. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ↑ Radio Academy Awards | Winners | 2014 | Production Awards | Best Comedy