About Konkers

Some Frequently Asked Questions about KONKERS - the Nationally Award Nominated radio sitcom.

WHAT IS KONKERS?

It’s a sitcom. So it’s weekly half-hour episodes with recurring characters and a single setting: the fictional city of Konkerbury and its university campus. It is not a sketch show (although it has a few sketch-like scenes) and it is not a soap (although it has a few ongoing plots) so you can start listening whenever, but you can follow particular characters if you regularly tune in. It caricatures elements of Canterbury - residents might recognise certain satirical jokes - but it is perfectly accessible to listeners who’ve never even been to Kent. There are no ‘in-jokes’ so don’t worry.

WHEN IS IT ON?

Monday nights at 10pm on CSR. It is also available on a LISTEN AGAIN service for 7 days after broadcast.

WHAT IS CSR?

A community radio station. It originally stood for “Canterbury Student Radio” but you don’t actually have to be a student to be involved, just a paid-up member. In East Kent it can be found at 97.4FM, but it also streams live at www.csrfm.com

WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS WEBSITE?

Some people get very confused. I once heard two radio DJs discussing this site on air, and they were utterly baffled, much to my amusement. I thought the joke was obvious, but apparently not! To explain: the site has 3 sections: UNIVERSITY (a satirical caricature of real university websites, presented as if Konkerbury is an actual place); KONKERS RADIO SERIES (where you are now - pages about the programme’s production); and BLOG (rather self-explanatory). In addition, there is a VIDEOS section, showcasing the non-radio exploits of Konkerbury; and a LISTEN AGAIN service, where you can catch up with the latest radio episode for 7 days after broadcast. Hope that’s cleared everything up.

SURELY KONKERS IS COMPLETE RUBBISH?

KONKERS was nominated “Best Scripted Programme” at the BBC-hosted National Student Radio Awards 2007.” The series has also been championed by BBC Radio Kent, who broadcast a specially-commissioned mini episode in September 2008. The series was produced externally, rather than using CSR’s facilities, so due care and attention was invested from start to finish. Each episode takes about a month to make, from recording to final edit using professional equipment and software. Oh, and all the episodes were written by the same author, so there’s no distracting change in ‘voice.’ All in all, you couldn’t really ask more from a voluntary production team with no budget and degrees to be getting on with. If you still think it’s rubbish then I’m sorry, we tried our best, maybe you’d prefer ‘My Family’ or something, I dunno. Or ‘Bo Selecta’ God help you...

CAN I BE IN OR WRITE KONKERS?

There are many introverted university societies that neglect new members and have their own nepotistic agenda, and we’ve always steered clear of that. Indeed we held open auditions for many of our characters. We are genuinely delighted by the requests we get from people to be involved, but unfortunately production on the series has wrapped up, and the production team have graduated. KONKERS on CSR is complete. The fictional world of Konkerbury and all its inhabitants belong to the author, Richard Dadd, so the series can’t continue under new reigns, especially as Richard is busy taking his creations elsewhere. However, don’t give up! We want to encourage anybody with talent and enthusiasm (a number of us were shunned by university societies so we know what it’s like). If you think you’d like to be involved in fiction, comedy, or CSR in general I’m sure they’d love to hear from you. Visit their website and e-mail them. And remember to persevere! KONKERS faced a million and one annoying setbacks but we soldiered on regardless. Best of luck.

WHY IS IT CALLED KONKERS?

The series is set in the fictional city of Konkerbury. I didn’t want to call the series ‘Konkerbury,’ as it’s cumbersome and easy to misspell. KONKERS is a bit more striking, and the ‘K’ is memorable I think. In context with the series “Konkers” is the name that people use to refer to the students of Konkerbury University. But crucially, none of the students themselves endorse the name. I wanted it to be one of those things like you read in promotional literature, that bears no relation to the reality. Or like university scarves - who wears university scarves? Yet you see them in prospectuses.

IF PRODUCTION HAS FINISHED, WHAT’S GOING ON NOW?

That’s a bit like saying “I’ve baked a cake, now what?” It’s ready to eat for God’s sake! Production has finished, and the series is now ready to be enjoyed on air. The production team have graduated, but we’re still active in the community. Furthermore, the world of KONKERS is being taken elsewhere, with short films being made, and new material having recently been produced especially for BBC Radio Kent. For up-to-the-minute news on what’s next for KONKERS, please visit our Blog.