The BBC Radio 4 comedy

Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme: The Complete Series 1-4

Tim Key attempts to recite poetry whilst tormenting his friend and musician, Tom Basden

You never know when Key will suddenly toss you a fantastic joke or startlingly well-constructed line

In any other sphere apart from comedy, we'd probably class this way of looking at the world as certifiable. Here it feels like genius

Tim Key, Stefan Golaszewski, Tom Basden and Lloyd Woolf are the members of the comedy quartet Cowards. They began working as a four-man group in 2004, and had sell-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005 and 2006. Their first radio appearance was on the BBC Radio 1 show The Milk Monitors, and they were soon given their first radio series, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007. A second series was transmitted in 2008, and a three-part TV series followed on BBC Four in 2009. Nominated for a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Entertainment, it was popular with critics and audiences alike.

Ever wondered just how much of life you can understand through poetry? 
 
Tim Key is never far from stage and screen - from Peep Show to Alpha Papa to Taskmaster. But now he's back doing what he does best - attempting to recite poetry whilst tormenting his friend and musician, the equally brilliant, and long suffering, Tom Basden. 
 
From ruminating on the meaning of family via his narrative poem The Godfather, attempting to get to the bottom of death via his poem The Boy Who Faked His Own Death, and also organising an impromptu stag party, Tim Key uses poetry to help him understand every situation. 
 
'In any other sphere apart from comedy, we'd probably class this way of looking at the world as certifiable. Here it feels like genius.' The Telegraph 
 
"The show... has a kind of artistry and strange beauty that makes it unlike any other hour of stand-up you are likely to see." The Observer 
 
'...You never know when Key will suddenly toss you a fantastic joke or startlingly well-constructed line.' Radio Times 
 
Audio updated April 2019

Tom Basden

Stefan Golaszewski

Tim Key

Lloyd Woolf

The Complete Series 1-2

The complete series 1 and 2 of the smart and surreal sketch comedy from Tom Basden, Stefan Golaszewski, Tim Key and Lloyd Woolf. 
 
In this complete collection of BBC Radio 4 series of 'Cowards', a batch of hapless and hopeful nearly-men battle with the challenge of everyday life, doing their very best to meet the demands of the modern world. 
 
Bikes start talking, genies appear that force you to guess what your three wishes are, bridges across the channel are built out of Lego, Parky loses it and a young man tries to audition for Barbara Windsor’s part in 'EastEnders'. 
 
There are also new creatures made from splicing a cow with an apple, social experiments into squatting while on the pull, wedding proposals in PC World, a sightseeing tour around Guantanamo Bay and a Garden of Eden where it rains chocolate and cows sing. Wry, left-field observations and detailed characterisation make this, their BBC Radio 4 series, a joyous and memorable sketch show experience. 
 
 ‘Re-inventing the tired art of sketch comedy... these four are brilliant’ - Observer.

Tim Key

Books by Tim Key

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