Wooden Overcoats

Best of iTunes | British Podcast Awards Winner

Wooden Overcoats is a podcast sitcom about competing funeral directors on an overlooked channel island. It is a lavishly produced audio comedy in eight episodes from the UK with a host of established and rising names.

The Name of the Kickstarter Mini-Series

August 12, 2017  /  Wooden Overcoats

The mini-series scripts are being given a final polish before recording. In a few weeks, we will launch our Season 3 Kickstarter! If you've donated before you'll know that we release a new mini-series episode every £2,000. There are five in total. We've been batting names back and forward and are now fizzing to tell you that this year's will be called:

Our last mini-series, Piffling Lives, focused on the stories of some the non-funerary characters of Piffling. For Funn Fragments, we are right back in with the coffins with Rudyard, Antigone, Eric, Georgie and Madeleine.

WHO ARE THE FUNN FRAGMENTS WRITERS?

Now that David is swimming in Season 3 scripts, we needed a crack team of writers for Funn Fragments and for the first time Piffling history, we've gone international.

oooOOOOoooo.

We've tapped the shoulders of some of the very best from the worlds of radio comedy and podcast drama.

BEN COTTAM is a writer from Lancashire best known in the audio world for the Radio 4 sitcom Plum House (starring Simon Callow and Jane Horrocks), a second series of which records next year. He also has a forthcoming drama series The Latvian Locum airing later this year on the same channel. He has written for a variety of shows (including Cartoon Network's The Amazing World of Gumball) and has a number of sitcoms in development. Twitter: @thisisbencottam

CHRISTOPHER HOGG (Wooden Overcoats Season One Episode Two: Flowers for Chapman) is a playwright, storyteller, ex-stand-up comedian, technologist and librettist. He is presently a Teaching Fellow at Royal Holloway, where he teaches Creative Social Media. He counts audio drama as a key area of his work. Christopher's latest play Rathband went to number one in the iTunes Arts Podcasts in April. To get to know him better, follow him on Facebook, where he spends far too much time. 

ALEX LYNCH is a comedy writer with BBC Radio 4 credits which include The News Quiz and his narrative sketch series, Expenses Only. Alex writes, produces and hosts the retrospective parody podcast, All Glory, for SOAP (on-soap.com). Alex has also written commercials for Picturehouse Cinemas, and two short films: Mugged (writer/co-producer) and Jack & Jill which was nominated for Best Comedy at LOCO and London Short Film Festival 2016. He is also a performer, having trained in long-form improvisation at the Free Association, and is currently working on his debut solo character show, Dead Air. Twitter: @AlexJRLynch / @AllGloryPod

LAUREN SHIPPEN is the writer and creator of the science fiction podcast The Bright Sessions. Since its debut in November of 2015, the podcast has won numerous awards, was named iTunes Best of 2016 and has been featured in Vox, Popular Science, WIRED, The London Evening Standard among others. The podcast is currently in development as a TV series by Universal Cable Productions and Dark Horse Entertainment. On top of her writing work, Lauren also has acted in numerous podcasts - including her own - as well as short films and web series. She has a degree in music from The College of William & Mary. Lauren is a New York native and now resides in Los Angeles. Twitter: @laurenshippen

GABRIEL URBINA is a Costa Rican-American writer, filmmaker, and lover of weird stories. He is best known as the creator and executive producer of Wolf 359, a Webby Award-nominated science fiction audio drama series. When he’s not too busy taking dictation from the voices in his head, Gabriel does a bit of teaching, has strong opinions about movies, and sleepwalks an alarming amount. He lives in Brooklyn. Visit his personal website or follow him on Twitter.  

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PIFFLING TOPLESS: FULL STOCK OF T-SHIRTS IN "ON-LINE" SHOP

May 05, 2017  /  Wooden Overcoats

From Piffling Matters.

In a Piffling Matters EXCLUSIVE SCOOP, I can reveal that this afternoon on Piffling FM‘s breakfast programme Good Morning, Please Talk To Me (tea-time repeat) host Jennifer Delacroix uncovered a secret plot to smuggle the island’s entire stock of branded t-shirts to our internet sales warehouses in Guernsey, English Channel, and also Guernsey, California.

Piffling tourism may be “somehow” affected, my source tells me.

The Mayor begged me not to do this, but as an “intrepid” journalist I am telling you where you can get what you deserve! Head to www.woodenovercoats.com/shop to buy one of the t-shirts from the photographs what I took myself.

Sid

Head to the Wooden Overcoats Shop to buy a t-shirt today.

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Silver Winners

May 02, 2017  /  Wooden Overcoats

The British Podcast Awards launched this year and we are over the moon to announce Wooden Overcoats walked away with Silver in the Fiction category!

Andy, Tom, Molly (writer: Ghost of Piffling Vale), David, Beth and Felix

Andy, Tom, Molly (writer: Ghost of Piffling Vale), David, Beth and Felix

The sold out event took place at The Platform Theatre in King's Cross. The great and the good of British podcasting converged in a room decorated with all the nominees' logos to catch up, meet old friends and new, and engulf canapes. There was free wine.

Tom, Beth and John

Tom, Beth and John

Felix with The Family Tree's Dave Pickering and Jen Adamthwaite

Felix with The Family Tree's Dave Pickering and Jen Adamthwaite

The evening was kicked off by organisers Matt Hill and Matt Deegan, and hosted by Answer Me This! / The Modern Mann's Olly Mann.

Olly Mann

Olly Mann

Check out the full list of winners on the British Podcast Awards' site. Our good friends The Beef & Dairy Network picked up the award for Best Comedy which was accepted by our own Tom Crowley doing his best Ben Partridge impression.

Tom pretends to be Ben

Tom pretends to be Ben

The evening ended with music, dancing, and much more drinking. Congratulations to everyone involved and thank you for the great night!

Images by the British Podcast Awards' official photographer.

Images by the British Podcast Awards' official photographer.

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Live Productions

January 29, 2017  /  Wooden Overcoats

Temperatures are starting to perk up. We're peeping our heads out from the January covers and looking bright eyed for February entertainment. Here's what you can catch live in London this week from the team behind Wooden Overcoats.

BIRTHDAY SUIT

The new play by Wooden Overcoats head writer David K. Barnes is storming the Old Red Lion to fantastic reviews.

It's Richard's birthday. The big 4-0. He's throwing a party and inviting all his colleagues. Diane is new to the firm, and, delighted to be asked, she's brought along her boyfriend, Nick, who has promised to be the spirit of party itself. 

There's trifle. Lots of trifle. And nibbles. There's just one problem. 

Nobody else is coming to Richard's party. 

It looks like Diane and Nick are in for a long evening, trapped with their peculiar host and their own worst anxieties. Until, that is, someone does turn up. Someone with a lot of history, and an appetite for revenge.

"MERCILESSLY TENSE"
★★★★ THE STAGE

Starring, among other, Emily Stride - who you'll remember as The Ringmistress in the Season 2 finale. Birthday Suit runs until the 4th of February.

http://www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk/birthday-suit.html

CROCODILE

Antigone Funn herself, Beth Eyre, is currently working behind the scenes as a producer on Crocodile written and performed by Joe Eyre*.

Having a child always changes people, especially when your daughter’s a crocodile. A dark comedy about Alan and Jane and their daughter Sarah.

Crocodile runs from 1 - 5 February.

http://www.vaultfestival.com/event/crocodile/2017-02-01/#details|2

*No relation**
**Well OK, quite a lot of relation. He's Beth's brother.

DON'T LET ME DOWN

Producer Andy Goddard turns writer for one-woman show Don't Let Me Down. That woman? Ciara Baxendale!

It’s all fun and games until the balloon says, “Hi”…

The world seems a cold place after the death of her father, but things take a strange turn when Tess receives a special birthday present.

A wry, sweet tragicomedy.

Don't Let Me Down runs from 8 - 12 February.

http://www.vaultfestival.com/event/dont-let-me-down/2017-02-08/#details|3

STORY ETC.

New podcast alert! New podcast alert! Tom "Chapman!" Crowley takes the hosting reigns on an evening to launch Story Etc.

Live comedy, music and storytelling from some very special guests in a bargain-price fundraiser to to raise funds for a brand new podcast all about making stuff up.

HELPING RAISE THOSE FUNDS ARE…

BEN MOOR – has been writing and performing solo theatre pieces for over 20 years, three of which were published as short stories in More Trees to Climb (Portobello Books, 2009). His work for BBC Radio includes the series Elastic Planet and Undone; acting credits include The IT Crowd and Dr Thorne for television, and the films Miss You Already and A Monster Calls.

LAZY SUSAN – Celeste Dring and Freya Parker are Lazy Susan, a sketch comedy duo specialising in doomed people making things worse for themselves. Their three Edinburgh hours to date have been critically acclaimed and beloved by Fringe audiences, and their debut was nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2014. Their act has been described as “a breath of comic fresh air” by Fest Magazine and “tender and ridiculous” by The Guardian.

ANNA LOU LARKIN – Armed with an accordion and a baffling array of facial expressions, this adorably twisted Parisienne will tell you stories that will amuse, enchant and bewilder. Anna Lou spent four years as Cabaret Roulette’s resident performer, creating a brand new act every month, while her solo show Anna Lou’s Contes D’amour won a Judge’s Award at Mimetic Festival before going on to the Edinburgh Fringe. “A piece of degenerate filth” – Run Riot

Story Etc.'s fundraiser will be held on 3 February.

http://www.vaultfestival.com/event/story-etc-live/

WOODEN OVERCOATS LIVE

And of course, the gang is back together for Wooden Overcoats LIVE on Saturday 4 February. Tickets are selling well so book now to make sure you get your seat.

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One Quarter of a Million

January 07, 2017  /  Wooden Overcoats

Wooden Overcoats episodes have been downloaded over a quarter of a million times as of today.

That's one download for every fourth person in Helsinki, every plug-in car sold in California or every passenger who flew Emirates over the New Year.

The more exposure the show gets, the easier it is to make. Can you think of one person who'd enjoy Wooden Overcoats?

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Wooden Overcoats Live at VAULT 2017

December 06, 2016  /  Wooden Overcoats

Wooden Overcoats Live will be coming to VAULT Festival 2017 for one night only. Book now for Saturday 4 February at 6.10 PM - tickets £9.

Booking Link to VAULT website

WAIT, WHAT'S VAULT?

VAULT Festival is a six week programme of the very best new theatre and comedy in London. Now in its fifth year, the festival is held in the old Victorian train storage tunnels under Waterloo station. You get there through a different tunnel, the graffiti covered Leake Street where you can see new designs daily, as well as skaters, bikers, photoshoots and music videos. It's all a bit cool.

Photograph by Davide D'Amico

Photograph by Davide D'Amico

Most of our main cast have worked at VAULT at some point and can attest to the incredible experience of being squirreled away underground in a hive dedicated to new work and creativity.

This year, there's even a chance to catch our own Ciara Baxendale in a show written by Wooden Overcoats producer Andy Goddard, Don't Let Me Down.

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What's it like at a Wooden Overcoats Live show?

December 04, 2016  /  Wooden Overcoats

Only two episodes left in Season 2! (Three if you've pre-ordered the Christmas special.) And with that we only have two live shows left. We'll be reading episodes 7 and 8 on Monday 12 December, and then a special Christmas show with mince pies and carols on Monday 19th.

Tickets are going quickly, make sure you book ahead.

With listeners in over 2/3 of the planet, we appreciate that it isn't easy for everyone to get to London. So for those of you who can't, here are a couple of clips from our last live show where we read episodes 5 and 6.

Here's Felix Trench performing To Be An Undertaker from episode 5. Ciara Baxendale was detained for the evening and we're grateful to Abigail Jackson for stepping in as Georgie.

Funerals are only one of Piffling's thriving industries. Alison Skilbeck plays sweetshop owner and constable Agatha Doyle, as well as a host of other characters come live show night. Here she is flooring Tom Crowley.

Rudyard and Antigone Funn are twins born a week apart. But nobody can reduce an audience to tears quite like Beth Eyre.

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Pre-Order Rudyard Ruins Christmas Now

November 20, 2016  /  Wooden Overcoats

Rudyard Ruins Christmas

They're playing carols in Starbucks. Coca-Cola are auditioning lorries. Someone's released a Christmas jumper dress. It can only mean one thing: the holidays are filling up the petrol tank and calling ahead to see if they should bring their own towels.

To celebrate, at the end of Season 2 we will be releasing a whole new episode - a Christmas special, Rudyard Ruins Christmas. The full length episode by Tom Crowley and David K. Barnes brings together all your favourite Piffling islanders for the season of burying people giving.

Rudyard Ruins Christmas is now available to pre-order for whatever you can afford or think its worth - be it a pound or a hundred pounds. All money raised will go right back into the show.

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER NOW

How does it work?

Drop a few quid in our online pot and make sure to fill out your contact details. Then check your e-mail for a secret link and password that will update with the episode on 22 December.

By the way, if you're one of the 410 listeners who donated to our Kickstarter in June, ignore this post! Bask in the knowledge of a job well done. We'll e-mail you as soon as it's out.

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