The Architects
- Radio sitcom
- BBC Radio 4
- 2013 - 2015
- 9 episodes (2 series)
Comedy by Jim Poyser and Neil Griffiths set in a struggling architectural practice. The show stars Geoffrey Whitehead as the boss. Stars Geoffrey Whitehead, Alex Carter, Dominic Coleman, Anna Crilly, Ingrid Oliver and Aisling Bea
Press clippings
Radio Times review
Architects can be every bit as laughable as politicians, lawyers and the rest. But, surprisingly, there's been no architectural sitcom until now.
The scene is set mainly in Sir Lucien's struggling practice, where junior partner Matt is refusing to compromise his vision for a dream house in Carshalton Beeches. As Sir Lucien, the juicily-voiced Geoffrey Whitehead performs with relish.
The humour is quick-fire and caustic. But it revolves not so much around planning regulations and what annoys us about modern higher-and-higher thinking as confusion over words and names and, in this opening episode, Sir Lucien's trip to Baden-Baden for colonic irrigation. It's somewhat surreal unless writers Jim Poyser and Neil Griffiths have insider info.
Whether it's funnier than Jonathan Meades's recent celebration of brutalism on BBC Four is debatable.
David McGillivray, Radio Times, 14th March 2014