Episode 5

The ninth series of John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme is very different to the previous eight. It's still written by John Finnemore, "one of our best sketch writers", (The Observer), and performed by him with "a great supporting cast. But, with no live studio audience for this series, John has taken the opportunity to try something completely new.

Every episode in this series of Souvenir Programme is made up of scenes from one person's life, played in reverse order.

There's no narrative to the episode; it's still a sketch show, not a sitcom... but the sketches in each episode all happened to one person, played by one member of the cast, over the course of their lifetime.

This week concerns Newt, following his life backwards from a funeral in 1990 to an eventful Christmas dinner in 1898.

Written and performed by John Finnemore
With
Newt ... John Finnemore
Ensemble ... Lawry Lewin
Ensemble ... Margaret Cabourn-Smith
Ensemble ... Simon Kane
Ensemble ... Carrie Quinlan

Original music composed by Susannah Pearse

Producer: Ed Morrish

A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2021.