Performed at “Exits & Entrances,” on December 9, 2019. An old archway around the breezeblocks showed where an entrance would once have stood. Someone had spray-painted a rudimentary door in place over the gritty grey bricks. It even had a pretend handle and windows marked in white. I passed the door on my way to … More “Simmer and Steep” by Judy Darley, read by Frances Chen
Performed at “Exits & Entrances,” on December 9, 2019. After 15 minutes, she took off her shoes. They were new, leather and had a little pinch around the back of the heel. She’d been wearing them, she calculated—any thought process to distract herself—for 13 and three-quarter hours, ever since she’d left the flat that morning … More “Undiscovered” by Olivia Parker, read by Joyce Chan
Performed at “Exits & Entrances,” on December 9, 2019. When is it appropriate to cry? My husband whispered it in the funeral home bathroom as I traced a black watery line over an eyelid. I paused. I thought back to my father’s funeral, just months prior. The public breakdowns one after another, the tears, the … More “Farewell Room” by Ysabelle Cheung, read by Vesper Liu
Performed at “Exits & Entrances,” on December 9, 2019. The day I stuffed my soft-sided luggage to the bursting point, I thought not of Jack, but of Caryn. I thought of how she might need me, how she’d grown used to me. I remembered crazy little things, like how she looked that last summer, paddling … More “Caryn” by C.G. Thompson, read by Jamee Hawn
Performed at “Exits & Entrances,” on December 9, 2019. She was in a bind. Literally. Butcher’s twine to be exact. The string had been knotted and wound around her wrists by an expert. It wouldn’t budge. Damn. It criss-crossed into her plump flesh – she must stop pigging out. Ah her delightful dalliances with divine … More “Pig Out” by Heledd Williams, read by Christopher Price
Performed at “Exits & Entrances,” on December 9, 2019. The milk delivery came through at 5.15am. Every day, the farm boy would clank up to the fly-screen door, heavy-footed on the porch floorboards. Julie lay in bed listening. She breathed deeply and flexed her feet. That boy walks like he never learnt to crawl. A … More “A Bad Weed Never Dies” by Anna Symmonds, read by DJ Hamilton
Performed at “Exits & Entrances,” on December 9, 2019. “Speech! Speech!” Matthew’s friends chant as he stands on a chair trying to keep a hold on his leaving gift: a framed photo of The Peak. “It’s been a great time. Really. Epic. Such a wild city. Insane. I mean seriously. Epic. Where else can you … More “Mo Exit” by Daniel Bird, read by Fraser McPhie
Performed at “Yay & Nay” on October 14, 2019. “Are you going to do it or not?” he said to me, tired of waiting. “Of course I am,” I said. We were at a park surrounded by residential estates. Apartment lights shone yellow in the cold winter night. I took a deep breath, oxygen rushing … More “A Year On, We Voiced our Discontent” by Jacqueline Leung, read by Vesper Liu
Performed at “Yay & Nay” on October 14, 2019. I hadn’t played in a band since high school, but I didn’t think that would be an issue for The Antinotes. The Antinotes were an experimental band who described their style as subtonal. Their songs consisted of no music, no sound whatsoever. It was “silence as … More “Unsound” by John Robertson, read by JJ Nazer
Performed at “Yay & Nay” on October 14, 2019. I wore my sable cloak for the journey; in part as the northern outskirts of the kingdom are surprisingly chilly at this time of year; in part because it does add a certain gravitas. No one had really wanted the job, but when the sands had … More “That’s the Trouble” by Joanne L. M. Williams, read by Sam Powney
