John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme: Series 9

Oct 8, 2024 4:16 PM

Author:John Finnemore,John Finnemore,Simon Kane,Margaret Cabourn-Smith,Lawry Lewin,Carrie Quinlan

The complete ninth series of BBC Radio 4's award-winning sketch show

'One of our best sketch writers' Observer

John Finnemore returns with his multi-award-winning sketch show, but this series is very different to the previous eight. There are still sketches and songs, and it's still written and performed by him and his usual fantastic ensemble cast - but with no live studio audience, John has taken the opportunity to try something new.

Each episode in this series of Souvenir Programme consists of scenes from one person's life, played in reverse order. There's no narrative as such - it's still a sketch show - but as we follow the characters back in time, from lockdown Zoom calls to childhood birthdays and funerals, the individual sketches link up to form an overall picture, portraying the sprawling history of an entire multi-generational family.

And, as if that wasn't enough, there are also some terrific tall tales, a paean of praise, and a truly unforgettable earworm...

Clever, complex, hilarious and poignant, these Souvenir Programmes with a twist star Lawry Lewin as Russ, Margaret Cabourn-Smith as Deborah, Simon Kane as Jerry, Carrie Quinlan as Vanessa and John Finnemore as Newt.

Cast and credits

Written and performed by John Finnemore

Ensemble cast: Margaret Cabourn-Smith, Simon Kane, Lawry Lewin, Carrie Quinlan

Original music composed by Susannah Pearse and Sally Stares, and arranged by Susannah Pearse and Tim Sutton

Recorded and edited by Rich Evans at Syncbox Post

Production coordinator: Beverly Tagg

Producer: Ed Morrish

A BBC Studios production

(p) 2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Reviews

A treasure trove of human ingenuity, and testament to our need to tell and believe stories, it deserves a front-row seat at any budding Bond's bedside

—— James Owen , The Times

Andrew and Green have carried out a huge amount of impeccable research, which they relay with infectious gusto... I found it extremely difficult to put this book down

—— Jake Kerridge , Daily Telegraph

Anyone who loves a good spy story will find and enjoy hundreds of them here

—— Economist

[An] enjoyable and well-informed survey...stars and spies will forever be inextricably linked

—— Alan Judd , Oldie

Perfect...read as you settle into James Bond on Christmas afternoon.

—— Simon Heffer , Daily Telegraph, *Books of the Year*

A thoroughly entertaining read

—— Simon Ings , Spectator

A beautiful book. There are amazing stories in there about meeting Princess Diana, the Red Arrows and all of our favourite telly shows. It's a delight

—— Zoe Ball , BBC Radio 2

The book we've all been waiting for . . . we haven't been able to put it down

—— New

A fantastic read!

—— Steve Wright , BBC Radio 2

We have loved your book - you've been so honest, open, everything that anyone knows you so well will have hoped to get from this book . . . you get it. A stroll through your incredible career and you also tackle, head on, in a really beautiful way what happened earlier this year

—— Andrea McLean , Loose Women

A bona fide national treasure . . . He tells his story in his way, with great honesty

—— Prima

One of our favourite things is the many hilarious anecdotes he has to share about his good friend Holly Willoughby

—— Hello!

Phillip Schofield has spoken candidly about his coming out process and his current mental health struggles in his autobiography

—— Pink News

Takes readers on the journey Phillip has taken to get to where he is today. Fans will delight at a nostalgic look back at Phillip's life, relish the behind the scenes stories, and feel touched by the emotional honesty in his writing

—— Northern Life Magazine

Dazzling

—— Evening Standard

Full of anecdotes about onscreen mishaps and meeting the famous

—— Daily Mail

The silver-haired overlord of daytime TV . . . Schofe's candour is admirable

—— Evening Standard

In this soul-bearing autobiography, Phillip looks back on his broadcasting career . . . A frank and highly readable life story

—— Sunday Express

O'Connor brings everything to this memoir

—— Financial Times

Incendiary

—— i

Astonishingly good, wise and hilarious

—— Louise Nealon

Candid, open-hearted . . . a lot of self-deprecation, a lot of laughs, and a measure of honesty that would put most of us to shame

—— Anglo-Celt

Genuinely incredible . . . [Rememberings is] suffused with humour and forgiveness

—— Guardian

There's nothing conventional about Sinéad O'Connor and there's little conventional about her memoir either. . . She writes with searing honesty and plenty of wit

—— Independent

Her complicated life makes for riveting reading. From ripping up photographs of the Pope on prime time US television and her mental health struggles to a rollercoaster spiritual quest, she has never been afraid to be fearless

—— iNews

A deliciously decadent tale of sex, tragedy, celebrity, surfboards and tanned skin in 1980s Malibu.

—— The Times

I absolutely loved her book.... It's an absolute blast to read

—— Alice- Azania Jarvis

JACKIE COLLINS, BUT BETTER Sacrilege to say "better", I know, but there we are. Set in the 1980s, Taylor Jenkins Reid's Malibu Rising is wonderfully written, intensely evocative and concerns the model/ surfer children of a rock star. Tons of glamour, tons of sharply observed insights about sibling relationships, plus a massive party. Beach read par excellence. See also her brilliant Daisy Jones & the Six, which is heaven (more rock stars).

—— Anonymous

When we picked up Malibu Rising, the new novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, we could barely put it down

—— That's Life

You'll never want this book to end, it will suck you in and spit you out!

—— Muddy Stilettos

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