Photograph by Lars Thornhill.
I have had the privilege of playing Rudyard Funn in the award-winning podcast sitcom Wooden Overcoats since 2015.
The show follows the adventures (and misadventures) of rival funeral parlours on an island in the English Channel, Piffling, and the lives of the islanders.
Wooden Overcoats has released three series of eight episodes, two mini-series, two holiday specials, and some merch.
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Left to right: Agatha Doyle (Alison Skilbeck), Petunia Bloom (Sarah Thom), Herbert Cough (Andy Hamilton), Mr Crumble the donkey (Pip Gladwin), Sid Marlowe (Paul Putner), Lady Templar (Catriona Knox), Eric, Madeleine, Rudyard, Antigone, Dr Edgware (David K. Barnes), Georgie, Nana Crusoe (Julia Deakin), Mayor Desmond Desmond (Steve Hodson & Sean Baker), Rev. Nigel Wavering (Andy Secombe) and Jennifer Delacroix (Alana Ross).
Rudyard is the jealous and paranoid co-owner of the oldest funeral parlour on the island with his twin sister Antigone (Beth Eyre). In the first episode, a sunny new funeral director Eric Chapman (Tom Crowley) moves in across the square and takes all their custom. Rudyard, Antigone and their incredibly competent assistant Georgie (Ciara Baxendale) fight to survive in this new economic reality.
Rudyard's best friend is a mouse called Madeleine who narrates the series (Belinda Lang and Holly Campbell).
Wooden Overcoats has won awards at the British Podcast Awards and Audioverse Awards, it's been Best of iTunes, and it's been nominated for the Prix Europa. It has made end-of-year best podcast lists for, among others, The New Statesman, The Irish Times and Vulture. It's been in The Guardian, The Times, The Financial Times, Forbes, Pop Culture Happy Hour, Vox, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph and many more.
We run live versions of the show in the year. These are incredible fun. The first two series' live shows took place above the The Horse & Stables pub in Waterloo. In 2018 we moved to King's Place. King's Place is also the home of the London Podcast Festival where we have performed every year since it began.
With Paul Putner. Video by John Wakefield.
In total, about a hundred people have worked on the show. That includes our director/producers John Wakefield and Andy Goddard, our head writer David K. Barnes, our production manager Elizabeth Campbell, and our composer and conductor James Whittle along with our orchestra, The Piffling Philharmonic.
James Whittle conducts the final music for series three at All Saints Church in Finchley. Video by John Wakefield.
"Move over, Radio 4. This ensemble scripted comedy about a pair of doomed undertakers is funnier than anything broadcast on the BBC." - Caroline Crampton, The New Statesman - The Best Podcasts of 2016
"I. Am. In - oh boy this is great - I am in love." - Glen Weldon, Pop Culture Happy Hour
"A quietly significant moment in British radio comedy." - Pete Naughton, The Daily Telegraph
"As good, if not better, than any Radio 4 comedy offering. It’s about rival funeral directors and it’s fab." - Miranda Sawyer, The Guardian
“A good sitcom is one that reliably comforts while also deepening over time.” - Nick Quah, Vulture - The 10 Best Podcasts of 2018
Left to right: Ella Watts, Elizabeth Campbell, Nina Kruse, John Wakefield, Andy Goddard, Sarah Thom, Amelia Donovan, Andy Secombe, Beth Eyre, Ciara Baxendale, Tom Crowley, David K. Barnes, Bec Boey, Alice Osmanski, Kathryn Bond, Emily Stride, me. Picture by Odinn Orn Hilmarsson.
