A diverting evening recording the famous radio show full of comedic shenanigans
I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue a multi award-winning comedy radio show, referred to as “the antidote to panel games” has been on the BBC Radio 4 airwaves since 1972. The recording in the Festival Theatre, in Edinburgh is to form the last two episodes in the current 81st series – a remarkable achievement. The show comprises games set by the chairman based on a variety of word play and comedic scenarios, often including musical accompaniment
The stage set with three desks and a piano and lit with teal back lights, we’re introduced to the recording session by producer Jon Naismith, who has been with the show since 1991. He explained the format of the evening ahead with recording two episodes over the next three hours, and warmed up the audience with a few jokes, before bringing on “the team”. Colin Sell at the piano, with Rory Bremner and Pippa Evans on one team, and Milton Jones and Fred MacAulay on the other, followed by our chairman for the evening, Jack Dee. As is customary for the show, the seat (and microphone) next to Jack was saved for the scorer Samantha, and later, Sven.
For those that were only acquainted with the final radio edit, the sheer volume of material covered in the recording is incredible. Jack Dee’s opening remarks covering various parts of Edinburgh’s history, ran to over 30 gags, which will likely appear as a select few in the final episodes. Some of these were based on rather dated tropes (e.g. Scottish people not knowing about citrus fruit until the invention of the Jaffa Cake) but went down well with the audience and enough filthy jokes scattered throughout the mainstream to keep the momentum going.
Across the two halves of the evening, I counted 17 different games, and each of those had numerous rounds with the two teams, further showcasing the level of effort put into the show. The games are mostly (and understandably) scripted to a certain degree prior, with some improvised games. The first half felt much more controlled, and it was interesting to see some of the retakes taken before the interval, as a reminder that this wasn’t just a comedy show. Stand-out performance of the first half was Pippa Evans impressive rendition of Billy Connolly’s “The Welly Boot Song” to the tune of “My Heart Will Go On”. The second half felt more geared towards the fans, with appearances of the Uxbridge English Dictionary (where new meanings of words are discovered) and a perennial favourite given a twist, with Morningside (sic) Crescent, based on the Edinburgh tram stops.
The sound quality was excellent – I had wondered beforehand if the stage would have been mic’d more for the benefit of the radio show rather than the audience in house, but needn’t have worried, and the staging still felt intimate despite the size of the theatre.
As the end of the recording drew to a close, and a couple of final retakes, we’re told to look out for the episodes airing, and that we might be surprised to find ourselves laughing where there wasn’t laughter before. Judging by the happy audience, the editing team will have a lot of material to work with.
The first of the episodes is scheduled to be broadcast at 18:30 on 10th June, on BBC Radio 4