Liars' League

Halloween special: DOOM & GLOOM, Tuesday 10th October

 

 

As the season of spectres & sepulchres lurches ever-closer, chains rattling, we're chilled to announce the winning stories for our Doom & Gloom pre-Halloween special on Tuesday 10th October! Deep in the shadow-draped basement bar of The Phoenix, W1 lurk Caribbean monsters, ghostly queens, sinister stews, murderous whales, headless women & a deadly game of hide-and-seek - & for just £5, you can join them ... if you dare! 

 

WINNING STORIES for DM & GLM

 

"Be Lucky, Girls" by Hannah Downes NEW AUTHOR

"When Duppy does come, who are you?" by Clarissa Angus NEW AUTHOR 

"Skinning the Cat" by Lanay Griessner NEW AUTHOR

"The Lamentation of a Sinner: An Addendum" by Leila Murton Poole NEW AUTHOR

"Come Find Me" by Pat Black 

"The Whale, in Six Parts" by Maria Kyle

 

Fancy coming along on Tuesday 10th October? Book your budget-friendly £5 tickets ASAP if you want the best seats - and don't forget that our venue, the Phoenix, Cavendish Square, W1 also does two-for-one burgers on Tuesday nights, which is nice - PLUS there will be our usual epic literary quiz with brilliant weird & horror to win, and free Halloween candy for all!

 

Tuesday 10th October, 7.30pm, tickets £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)

The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door, but it's well worth booking a ticket in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Any questions? See below. 

 

 

As the season of spectres & sepulchres lurches ever-closer, chains rattling, we're chilled to announce the winning stories for our Doom & Gloom pre-Halloween special on Tuesday 10th October! Deep in the shadow-draped basement bar of The Phoenix, W1 lurk Caribbean monsters, ghostly queens, sinister stews, murderous whales, headless women & a deadly game of hide-and-seek - & for just £5, you can join them ... if you dare! 

 

WINNING STORIES for DM & GLM

 

"Be Lucky, Girls" by Hannah Downes NEW AUTHOR

"When Duppy does come, who are you?" by Clarissa Angus NEW AUTHOR 

"Skinning the Cat" by Lanay Griessner NEW AUTHOR

"The Lamentation of a Sinner: An Addendum" by Leila Murton Poole NEW AUTHOR

"Come Find Me" by Pat Black 

"The Whale, in Six Parts" by Maria Kyle

 

Fancy coming along on Tuesday 10th October? Book your budget-friendly £5 tickets ASAP if you want the best seats - and don't forget that our venue, the Phoenix, Cavendish Square, W1 also does two-for-one burgers on Tuesday nights, which is nice - PLUS there will be our usual epic literary quiz with brilliant weird & horror to win, and free Halloween candy for all!

 

Tuesday 10th October, 7.30pm, tickets £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)

The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door, but it's well worth booking a ticket in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Any questions? See below. 

 

 

As the season of spectres & sepulchres lurches ever-closer, chains rattling, we're chilled to announce the winning stories for our Doom & Gloom pre-Halloween special on Tuesday 10th October! Deep in the shadow-draped basement bar of The Phoenix, W1 lurk Caribbean monsters, ghostly queens, sinister stews, murderous whales, headless women & a deadly game of hide-and-seek - & for just £5, you can join them ... if you dare! 

 

WINNING STORIES for DM & GLM

 

"Be Lucky, Girls" by Hannah Downes NEW AUTHOR

"When Duppy does come, who are you?" by Clarissa Angus NEW AUTHOR 

"Skinning the Cat" by Lanay Griessner NEW AUTHOR

"The Lamentation of a Sinner: An Addendum" by Leila Murton Poole NEW AUTHOR

"Come Find Me" by Pat Black 

"The Whale, in Six Parts" by Maria Kyle

 

Fancy coming along on Tuesday 10th October? Book your budget-friendly £5 tickets ASAP if you want the best seats - and don't forget that our venue, the Phoenix, Cavendish Square, W1 also does two-for-one burgers on Tuesday nights, which is nice - PLUS there will be our usual epic literary quiz with brilliant weird & horror to win, and free Halloween candy for all!

 

Tuesday 10th October, 7.30pm, tickets £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)

The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door, but it's well worth booking a ticket in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Any questions? See below. 

Tuesday 10th October, 7.30pm, tickets £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)

The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door, but it's well worth booking a ticket in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Any questions? See below. 

Tuesday 10th October, 7.30pm, tickets £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)

The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door, but it's well worth booking a ticket in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Any questions? See below. 

The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door, but it's well worth booking a ticket in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Any questions? See below. 

While You Were Sleeping by Alyson Tait

To listen to actress Lucy Mabbitt reading the story, click here: While You Were Sleeping MP3

I let my head fall against the chair's faded leather upholstery. "Today would be the second anniversary of our first date. A year ago, you argued that I mis-remembered. My name came out of your mouth every fifth word like 'Molly' was suddenly a vulgar swear."

I listen to the ventilator for a moment and scoff. "You know, Hannah … I remembered all of our anniversaries. I remember that it took you six full months to agree that we were official. Another three to meet your parents."

Silence greets me -- as usual. "You'd never admit it, but I always suspected I'm your first girlfriend."

A frog jumps into my throat, and for a minute, it's hard to speak.

"Do you remember how long the two of us sat in that corner booth? Our drinks ran dry, and that dinky light bulb blew out. It took forty minutes for our waitress to notice."

Saltwater by Sally Wild

Guilt is a hunter. Love is a warrior. Sorrow is a stranger.  Solitude is a face glimpsed in a crowd and then gone forever. Knowledge is a ray of light in the darkness. Confusion is a twat.

I stand at the edge of the sea. I feel sad. At the edge of the sea, where the water meets the land, where the land meets the water, I stand, and experience the emotion of sadness. I listen to the gentle roar and rush of the sea, the quiet but persistent rush and roar that is the sea’s roaring rush, its rushing roar. Now I know sadness and now I know the sea. The sea, the sound, the sadness, the pebbles on the beach. How many pebbles? Impossible to count them, but I know – I know – it must be more than twelve.

Absence Episodes by Darinka Aleksic

Read by Claire Lacey

Sandra found out she was pregnant early on, when “your baby is approximately the size of a blueberry”. She’d never bothered with books when she was expecting the girls, it had all just happened. But it was different this time round. By the time the baby was size of a large plum, Barry had already fucked off, and she’d spent the weeks between grapefruit and watermelon entirely by herself.

Dave was on the scene by the time they stopped measuring babies by fruit.

What size was Ryan then? she wondered, as she sat in the darkness of the car park. Six months old. Christmas turkey for 20, maybe. Hefty.

The Wolf's Daughter by Mina Ma

Read by Carrie Cohen

Red is quite the storyteller. 

‘There was a deafening roar as it charged out of the undergrowth, coming right at me, straight for my pale throat ...’

She’s told this same story to locals and tourists alike over the years – while Apple gurgled in a basket at her feet; while Apple toddled in between the chairs and legs of audience members who pinched her cheeks; while Apple played hide and seek with her own shadow. Red tells it, now, beside the inn’s glowing fireplace, while Apple serves drinks behind the bar.

Imprisoned, We Dream of Flight by Katie Lewis

Read by Lin Sagovsky

When Abbie summons me, she offers up her soul to destroy everything.

Laughing, I decline. “I’m a fallen angel,” I say, gesturing to my missing wings. “Exiled to Hell for greed. But one day, I’ll be freed and the world will be mine to play with.” I grin, showing teeth. “I need it undestroyed for that to happen.”

Abbie scowls. She’s young – maybe fifteen – and exudes loathing.  “What makes you so sure you’ll be freed?”

I shrug, glancing around what seems to be her bedroom. It’s oddly bare. “Humans worked out how to summon us from Hell,” I say. “Eventually, one will work out how to free me entirely, in return for something they think they need.” I smirk. “In fact, I have some idea of how that ritual would work. You could –”

“Only if you’ll destroy everything,” she says quickly.

NEXT EVENT: Women & Girls, Tuesday 8th August

WE HAVE OUR WINNERS!

It's never an easy task, sorting the very best stories from the teetering tower of talent that is the Women & Girls submissions every year ... but we've picked our five winning stories, and they're below!

 

WINNING STORIES for WOMEN & GIRLS

 

"Absence Episodes" by Darinka Aleksic, read by Claire Lacey 
a guilty mother grapples with a terrible secret

 

"Imprisoned, We Dream of Flight" by Katie Lewis, read by Lin Sagovsky 

a fallen angel is summoned by a nihilistic teen - will redemption or destruction be the result?

 

"While You Were Sleeping" by Alyson Tait, read by Lucy Mabbitt

visiting her comatose girlfriend in hospital, our narrator reveals her dark side ...

 

"The Wolf's Daughter" by Mina Ma, read by Carrie Cohen

a raw and radical Red Riding Hood reboot from mistress of the myth-twist, Mina Ma

 

"Saltwater" by Sally Wild, read by Patsy Prince

Philosophy for Dummies & sassy surrealism beside the seaside 

 

Fancy coming along on Tuesday 8th August? Book your budget-friendly £5 tickets ASAP if you want the best seats - and don't forget that our venue, the Phoenix, Cavendish Square, W1 also does two-for-one burgers on Tuesday nights, which is nice - PLUS there will be our usual epic literary quiz with brilliant books by women to win, and free sweets for all!

 

Tuesday 8th August, 7.30pm, tickets £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)

The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door, but it's well worth booking a ticket in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Any questions? See below. 

 

WINNING STORIES for WOMEN & GIRLS

 

"Absence Episodes" by Darinka Aleksic, read by Claire Lacey 
a guilty mother grapples with a terrible secret

 

"Imprisoned, We Dream of Flight" by Katie Lewis, read by Lin Sagovsky 

a fallen angel is summoned by a nihilistic teen - will redemption or destruction be the result?

 

"While You Were Sleeping" by Alyson Tait, read by Lucy Mabbitt

visiting her comatose girlfriend in hospital, our narrator reveals her dark side ...

 

"The Wolf's Daughter" by Mina Ma, read by Carrie Cohen

a raw and radical Red Riding Hood reboot from mistress of the myth-twist, Mina Ma

 

"Saltwater" by Sally Wild, read by Patsy Prince

Philosophy for Dummies & sassy surrealism beside the seaside 

 

Fancy coming along on Tuesday 8th August? Book your budget-friendly £5 tickets ASAP if you want the best seats - and don't forget that our venue, the Phoenix, Cavendish Square, W1 also does two-for-one burgers on Tuesday nights, which is nice - PLUS there will be our usual epic literary quiz with brilliant books by women to win, and free sweets for all!

 

Tuesday 8th August, 7.30pm, tickets £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)

The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door, but it's well worth booking a ticket in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Any questions? See below. 

Tuesday 8th August, 7.30pm, tickets £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)

The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door, but it's well worth booking a ticket in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Any questions? See below. 

Tuesday 8th August, 7.30pm, tickets £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)

The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door, but it's well worth booking a ticket in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Any questions? See below. 

The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door, but it's well worth booking a ticket in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Any questions? See below. 

The Man Downstairs by Renesha Dhanraj

Read by Anoushka Deshmukh (third story in podcast, here)

Tonight, again, Madam cannot sleep because of the rustling. Because Madam doesn’t sleep, I can’t sleep. She pulls me from my cot — a meagre straw thing pushed to the furthest corner of her bedroom — and wraps my fingers around the pinta broom. We keep the broom inside now.

Downstairs, she says.

Downstairs is the kitchen, which is where I slept before Madam got the way she is now.

A man is downstairs. A man has gotten into the kitchen because Madam left the downstairs window open, hoping that a breeze will flit its way in and soothe the overheating of ancient womanhood.

The Greater Good by Marc-Anthony Hurr

Read by Jeremiah O'Connor (third story in podcast, here)

It’s not perfect, but they’ve done it. It will be presented tomorrow by the team leader (nerdy Portuguese save-the-bees guy, remember him?). The invite has been sent out to all members of the club. See you there.

That’s what the email had said. Wilson had bum sweat, which meant he was excited. He hadn’t expected his money to deliver results so soon. Maybe ever, in truth. The door opened and in came Tiago. Small frame, kind face.

An image filled a giant screen. “Thank you for the honour of selecting me to present our project to you.” A subtle accent cradled his Queen’s English.

“Not at all Tiago. You were chosen as a consequence of your intellect and involvement in the project. Please, begin the presentation.”

Four Barrels of Ale by David Klotzkin

Read by Tony Bell - first story in podcast, here

There was a roaring fire. Bess, the innkeeper’s lovely wife, moved through the crowd pouring mugs of ale, one to each, except for Big Sam, who took two, and Little Nell, who also took two, one in each dainty hand.

Between them stood Will, a stout lad, who was leaving tomorrow to join the king’s service.

“To Will,” Big Sam boomed, and hoisted his mug.

“To Will!” Will wobbled on his feet, a victim of too many toasts in his honour.

The Grappler by S. Tierney

Read by Clive Greenwood - final story in podcast, here. 

“Well I'll be a ... The Granite Grappler. Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time.”

          The Granite in question was very much as his name would suggest: greying, unyielding, cracked, eroded, like he'd been dug from the earth with the bluntest of shovels. He comprised more than four-hundred pounds of callused unshaven meat, every blubberous fold shot with rosacea, sagging from all the wrong places, and tallied with blade marks – and these were just the glowing characteristics.

          “Never thought I'd see him in colour,” the manager muttered as The Grappler, arduously, continued his slog down the gym's creaking staircase. “Shit, I've seen sacks of coal emptied down a chute with more finesse.”

Henchmen Wanted by Rhys Timson

Read by Lisa Rose - podcast here (4th story) 

You must be my eleven o’clock. Step into my office. Hope you didn’t have any trouble finding us. Our dragon should have met you at the drawbridge, but perhaps he's on a smoke break.

People can sometimes get a bit lost in the Forest of Illusion, and I did argue with facilities management about the wisdom of siting the castle entrance next to the Maze of Despair, but in any case, it’s great that you’ve made it here on time, or made it here at all! Many don’t.

Please do take a seat. Just brush those bones onto the floor. Don't worry, those straps on the armrests aren't for you. We used to use that chair for torture, but now it's just for interviews.

LATEST EVENT: Heroes & Villains, Tuesday 13th June

On 13th June The Phoenix witnessed acts of heroism, villainy & both at once, as our fantastic actors read brand new short stories of shadow-haunting monsters, heroic henchmen, epic wrestling battles, Guyanese bandits and how to save the world (maybe) ... The podcast is playable (& downloadable) here: Heroes & Villains (June) or here (play only):Heroes & Villains Podcast (MP3)  here's the YouTube playlist. 

Fancy coming to our next show, Women & Girls on Tuesday 8th August? Book your budget-friendly £5 tickets ASAP if you want ringside seats - and don't forget that our venue, the Phoenix, Cavendish Square, W1 also does two-for-one burgers on Tuesday nights, which is nice - PLUS there will be our usual epic book quiz with books to win, and free sweets for all!

WINNING STORIES FOR HEROES & VILLAINS

Four Barrels of Ale by David Klotzkin, read by Tony Bell

Henchmen Wanted by Rhys Timson, read by Lisa Rose

The Greater Good by Marc-Anthony Hurr, read by Jeremiah O'Connor

The Grappler by S. Tierney, read by Clive Greenwood

The Man Downstairs by Renesha Dhanraj, read by Anoushka Deshmukh

 

Tuesday 13th June, 7.30pm, £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)
The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door but it's well worth booking a ticket via Paypal in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Still got questions? See below.

WINNING STORIES FOR HEROES & VILLAINS

Four Barrels of Ale by David Klotzkin, read by Tony Bell

Henchmen Wanted by Rhys Timson, read by Lisa Rose

The Greater Good by Marc-Anthony Hurr, read by Jeremiah O'Connor

The Grappler by S. Tierney, read by Clive Greenwood

The Man Downstairs by Renesha Dhanraj, read by Anoushka Deshmukh

 

Tuesday 13th June, 7.30pm, £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)
The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door but it's well worth booking a ticket via Paypal in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Still got questions? See below.

WINNING STORIES FOR HEROES & VILLAINS

Four Barrels of Ale by David Klotzkin, read by Tony Bell

Henchmen Wanted by Rhys Timson, read by Lisa Rose

The Greater Good by Marc-Anthony Hurr, read by Jeremiah O'Connor

The Grappler by S. Tierney, read by Clive Greenwood

The Man Downstairs by Renesha Dhanraj, read by Anoushka Deshmukh

 

Tuesday 13th June, 7.30pm, £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)
The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door but it's well worth booking a ticket via Paypal in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Still got questions? See below.

 

Tuesday 13th June, 7.30pm, £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)
The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door but it's well worth booking a ticket via Paypal in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Still got questions? See below.

We Accept Your Demands by Oliver Bussell

Read by Sarah Feathers (final story in podcast, here)

We accept your demands.

There is a flurry of static and she can’t be entirely sure what she’s heard. She presses the button again: What?

We accept your demands.

You accept?

That’s what I said (says the voice). We accept.

Oh, she says. They accept. Wren turns to address those around her: the fifteen linking arms, the group secured to lampposts with cable ties, the Painted People, The Tattooed Man, the students glued to pavements, the elderly couple handcuffed to the railings.

The King's Potatoes by Jerome McFadden

Read by Paul Clarke (fourth story in podcast, here)

Joachim sat in the dreary cell waiting to be executed. The turnkeys would open the massive iron door late in the afternoons to read off the list of names. A few of the men would stand up bravely, clanking in their ankle and wrist shackles, as if wanting to be done with it, tired of the agonizing wait. Others would scuttle deeper into the shadows or try to hide behind their fellow prisoners. The jailers would drive them out of the dungeon with their heavy batons.

A Queen Cannot by JJ Surtees

Read by Lin Sagovsky (third story in podcast, here) NB Content warning for miscarriage & child loss

'What's this now?' the doctor asks her lady-in-waiting as he leaves the bedchamber, 'number nine lost?'

Her lady-in-waiting confirms he's correct and closes the door after him, leaving her mistress alone. A rare occurrence. Alone and alone, the Queen thinks, and doesn't smile.

She should call them both back in she knows, reprimand them for the insult, for daring to discuss her. But she does not, she's just so tired and asserting her authority would do nothing. You can be God's anointed and still out of His favour, a Queen and less fortunate than the lowest serving girl. Queen Anne and nothing. No screaming, no prayers to the Almighty will change this.

Heads of State by Richie Jones

Read by Nathaniel Ashley (second story in the podcast, here)

The boardroom has been prepared tastefully, for the session with three representatives of what we refer to only as the State.

Lilies in vases either side of a large wall-mounted TV at one end of the room. The conference table, dark wood with a pleasing grain. Top-tier glassware. The room smells faintly of the lilies and nothing else. Behind us the floor-to-ceiling window displays London in high resolution — there to be coveted. The clients sit facing the skyline. We have been extensively prepped on choreography this morning; the way we would deftly suggest where the clients should sit, without telling them where to sit, and with nothing so gauche as place settings.

The Princess and the Kennel Girl by Fiona Mossman

Read by Patsy Prince (first story in podcast, here)

There was once a princess in a high, far, wintry kingdom who had a very strange gift that some called a curse. It was on account of this that the princess was locked away, her contact with other people forbidden, and gloves of the most curious kinds ordered for her from the lands to the south, where costly materials were woven by many skilled artisans, softer and kinder than the rough wools of that mountainous kingdom.

The princess was treated well and wanted for nothing, but her heart was sore from loneliness. She could often be seen at the window of her high tower, talking to the birds and to the air. The folk in the fields below saw her, and looked down again to their work.

LATEST EVENT: Royalty & Revolution, Tuesday 11th April

2023 will see the first Coronation in 70 years ... so the night of Tuesday 11th April (also our 150th show by the way, which makes us at least 70 in literary event years) was themed on Royalty & Revolution - political, sexual, scientific & more. Our fantastic actors read brand new stories of murder PR, royal/rustic romance, grieving Queens, how to poison a tyrant & the political protest to end them all ... or will it? All stories are now online as a YouTube playlist - watch them here. 

Those who wanted to hear tales fit for a Tsar on a beggar's budget booked £5 tickets for the best value Coronation knees-up in the West End! Our majestic venue, the Phoenix, Cavendish Square, W1 also does two-for-one burgers on Tuesday nights, which is nice - PLUS there was our usual fiendish book quiz with books to win, and free mini chocolate eggs for all!

WINNING STORIES for ROYALTY & REVOLUTION

A Queen Cannot by Joseph Surtees - read by Lin Sagovsky

Heads of State by Richie Jones - read by Nathaniel Ashley

The Princess & the Kennel-Girl by Fiona Mossman - read by Patsy Prince

We Accept Your Demands by Oliver Bussell - read by Sarah Feathers

The King's Potatoes by Jerome McFadden - read by Paul Clarke

 

The uprising begins here!

 

Tuesday 11th April, 7.30pm, £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)
The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door but it's well worth booking a ticket via Paypal in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Still got questions? See below.

2023 will see the first Coronation in 70 years ... so the night of Tuesday 11th April (also our 150th show by the way, which makes us at least 70 in literary event years) was themed on Royalty & Revolution - political, sexual, scientific & more. Our fantastic actors read brand new stories of murder PR, royal/rustic romance, grieving Queens, how to poison a tyrant & the political protest to end them all ... or will it? All stories are now online as a YouTube playlist - watch them here. 

Those who wanted to hear tales fit for a Tsar on a beggar's budget booked £5 tickets for the best value Coronation knees-up in the West End! Our majestic venue, the Phoenix, Cavendish Square, W1 also does two-for-one burgers on Tuesday nights, which is nice - PLUS there was our usual fiendish book quiz with books to win, and free mini chocolate eggs for all!

WINNING STORIES for ROYALTY & REVOLUTION

A Queen Cannot by Joseph Surtees - read by Lin Sagovsky

Heads of State by Richie Jones - read by Nathaniel Ashley

The Princess & the Kennel-Girl by Fiona Mossman - read by Patsy Prince

We Accept Your Demands by Oliver Bussell - read by Sarah Feathers

The King's Potatoes by Jerome McFadden - read by Paul Clarke

 

The uprising begins here!

 

Tuesday 11th April, 7.30pm, £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)
The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door but it's well worth booking a ticket via Paypal in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Still got questions? See below.

The uprising begins here!

 

Tuesday 11th April, 7.30pm, £5 (doors open at 6.30pm)
The Phoenix basement bar
37 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0PP

(nearest tube Oxford Circus)

 

N.B. We DO now accept card payments on the door but it's well worth booking a ticket via Paypal in advance to ensure you get a table - just click here. Still got questions? See below.

Meedy by Will Conway

Read by Rich Keeble (third story in podcast here, at 30:25)

 

Monday

‘Tobes, the Meedy is flashing differently. Does it mean it’s not working?’

‘Test it.’

‘Who’s the biggest knob head?’

‘I would describe neither of you using that word,’ the flat voice issued. ‘Please charge my battery. Toby, by my calculations, it’s your turn.’

Interview at the RSA by Sarah Richardson

Read by Andrea Hall (first story in podcast, here)

The man opposite had started trying to make eye contact. I could tell by the way his shoe twisted quickly back and forth, grazing the scuffed floor of the waiting room in a timid plea for acknowledgement. I kept my gaze on the shoe—a worn DM, sketchily smeared with polish by its owner—for as long as my nerves could take it, which I doubted had amounted to very long at all. I looked up: ‘Hi—’

‘Hi!’ The man’s hope leapt from his throat so forcefully that another man, sitting to his left, visibly recoiled. ‘I don’t suppose you’d—’

‘No.’ Then I added, ‘Sorry.’ Because genuinely I was: sorry for him, whoever he was, sorry for all of us. Chances were he was decent enough, and he wasn’t bad-looking either—a bit sweaty, but all of us left had been waiting more than three hours now and to be honest I probably looked a lot worse.