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2018

Welcome to the Story Friday Archive

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Thanksgiving Dinner

Story Friday
Feast

Feast

Stories from Story Friday:  Feast

 

Stories from Feast, first performed at Story Friday Feast, 30th November 2018, Burdall’s Yard, Bath.

We had a lip-smackingly delicious line-up of stories for Story Friday Feast at Burdall’s for our last Story Friday of 2018.

We welcomed Story Friday regulars Philip Douch, Elaine Miles and Doc Watson;  Nicolas Ridley and Debbie Beale have had at least one outing on the Story Friday stage,  and we were very pleased to hear writers new to Story Friday, Ali Bacon, Tony Kirwood and Ed Broom.  Ed came all the way from Ipswich, and Tony came down on the London train – we’re thrilled to hear how far Story Friday’s fame has travelled!

 

We also had a delightful amuse bouche by Jenny Woodhouse in the programme for the audience to read in the interval – when they weren’t grappling with the not-terribly-fiendish quiz! (Congrats to the winners, hope you enjoyed your easy peeler clementines!)

We’ve got monsters and saints, sins and indulgences, cafes, restaurants, more than one wedding…. and a perfectly ripe peach.   So a cornucopia of writerly delights awaits you if you’d care to listen again.  If you have a listen and like what you hear please spread the word – and you can always leave a comment if you’d like to!

The Stories:

1. Doc starts us off at a gallop with A Feast For All Seasons, written and read by Doc Watson

2. Ali’s delicate memoir, The Day of the Peach, is written and read by Ali Bacon

3. Ed’s narrator finds a stranger in his kitchen in Out of Office, written and read by Ed Broom

4. Elaine’s story takes us to Kenya, in The Housekeeper, written and read by Elaine Miles

5. Nicolas’s charming story is set on a bench in a London park.  A Sweet Refrain, written and read by Nicolas Ridley

6. Debbie puts a different spin on a familiar fairytale in her story The Wedding Feast, written and read by Debbie Beale

7. Tony’s narrator is lonely and hungry, in Monster, written and read by Tony Kirwood

8. Relax as you listen to Philip’s rich, warm tones, as he reads The Restaurant, written and read by Philip Douch*

*NB Philip has a beard. Also, he was reading from a grey file. Not that we are making any comment about that. Not at all…

Tomorrow
Image by Aideal Hwa

Story Friday
Tomorrow

Stories from Story Friday:  Tomorrow

 

Stories from Tomorrow first performed at Story Friday Tomorrow, 21st September 2018, Burdall’s Yard, Bath.

Tomorrow could mean Saturday – or it could mean the year 2060.  At Story Friday Tomorrow we wondered about  what happens next.

 

Lots of the stories explored aspects of the future, but Christine Roberts and Christina Saunders contemplated contemporary tomorrows.

 

We always have a one or two newcomers with every Story Friday, and this time we welcomed Victoria Dowd (who read her work on stage for the very first time ever), Christina Saunders and Nicolas Ridley.  Plus some old favourites with Stephanie Weston, Christine Roberts, Clare Reddaway and Richard Bond.  Caroline Garland and Oliver Langdon read a story each, quite beautifully.  We printed one of Richard’s pieces of flash fiction in the programme too. You can read his story ‘Whose Tomorrow?’ if you scroll down the page.

Please have a listen of the stories we recorded on the night.  We’d love to know what you think of them, if you’d like to leave us a comment!

The Stories:

1. Steph has given us a very particular brand of zombie apocalypse with ‘The Queuing Dead’, written and read by Stephanie Weston

 

2. Victoria’s story looks at technology and memory.  ‘Soul Depository’ is an intriguing view of the future, written and read by Victoria Dowd

3. Christina’s story is a beautifully written musing on grief, an unsurprising competition winner elsewhere.  Oliver Langdon reads ‘That Happens At The Edge’, written by Christina Saunders

4. Nicolas made the audience guffaw with his vision of the future. ‘Doing What Comes Naturally’, written and read by Nicolas Ridley

5. Richard’s enigmatic and chilling story about a future virus is movingly read by Caroline Garland.  ‘Is There Anybody Not Waiting?’ is written by Richard Bond

6. Chris takes us to the brutal reality of today’s streets with her story.  Wait until after the first bout of applause to hear her dedication.  ‘Every Day Is Like The Day Before’, written and read by Christine Roberts

7. Should we apologise to some of the politicians satirised in Clare’s story? Um…naah…. ‘Stuff It’, written and read by Clare Reddaway

To finish, this is Richard Bond’s piece of flash fiction ‘Whose Tomorrow?’ which we printed in the programme:
 

Whose Tomorrow?
by Richard Bond
 

After work, crammed into the bar watching it all on the big screen, a man and a woman stand close together. The protest became a riot then a massacre now a n uprising.  Frantic reporters talk for their lives crouched under pot-marked walls, others behind the front line interview the wounded. One protestor with blood on his hands tells the camera he’s lost his sons. They came to protest peacefully, didn’t want trouble, no one did, why did the police open fire, what in god’s name was happening, whose blood was this? He doesn’t know, shakes his head, wanders away confused.
 

In the bar, drink flows like there’s no tomorrow. The man’s wife rings; the city isn’t safe, better here in the suburbs, the children are asking how long will he be? Not long.
 

And the woman’s flat-mate too, she can hear gunshots from their balcony, she is frightened, how long will she be? Not long.
 

An old timer says the President must go, he’d back the rebels. They all would here, but the President is strong, easier said than done, could be a long bloody business, they agree. The army holds the key, which way they go. No love lost between the generals and the President, but the rebels are not their natural allies either. No love lost all round.
 

The man and woman leave the bar and he takes her hand. It’s time, he says. Yes, it is, she replies.

As they approach the train station, the protestor with blood on his hands walks past, still shaking his head. He glances at them, spits and runs into the night shouting ‘betrayed’!
 

A distant flash illuminates a skein of smoke rising over the city. She grips his hand tightly, they smile and walk on. This will be their tomorrow.

Stolen

Story Friday
Stolen

Stories from Story Friday: Stolen

 

Stories from Stolen, first performed at Story Friday Stolen, 11th May 2018, Burdall’s Yard, Bath.

We were delighted to have a wonderful line up of writer-performers for Story Friday Stolen.  We welcomed Mark Rutterford, Martin Phillips, Doc Watson, Elaine Miles, Clare Reddaway, Sarah Curwen and David Wood, with an extra deliciousness recorded for the website by Derek Williams.  

 

We visited the Highlands, London Bridge and the past, we met booklovers and bagpipe players, and we found chessmen and typewriters, magpies and Christmas trees, all in unexpected places, in this feast of stories from some of the best writers in the south-west.

The Stories:

1. A romantic literary confection: ‘The Book Thief’, written and read by Mark Rutterford

2. We’re in Wales for Martin’s story: ‘You Can’t Trust Nobody’, written and read by Martin Phillips

3. A bloodthirsty medieval Wiltshire is the backdrop to ‘The White King’, written and read by Sarah Curwen

4. We muse on identity in Doc’s story ‘The Name’s The Same’, written and read by Doc Watson

5. A moving story from Elaine: ‘Can You Hear Me?’, written and read by Elaine Miles

6. There are magpies and typewriters in David’s intriguing story: ‘Stolen’, written and read by David Woods

7. We visit the Highlands and the Australian outback in Clare’s story: ‘My Land, Your Land’, written and read by Clare Reddaway

Home
Brick Fireplace

Story Friday
Home

Stories from Story Friday: Home

 

Stories from Home, first performed at Story Friday Home, 9th March 2018, Burdall’s Yard, Bath.

Home is where the heart is.  It’s all hygge, mugs of hot chocolate and unconditional love.  Or is it?  Home might be a castle, or a box and a blanket on a street corner.  Home might conjure up emotions of warmth and happiness, or of anger and sorrow.  Home is…complicated.

For Story Friday Home we had a fabulous selection of stories.  We were thrilled to welcome writers John Holland, Elaine Miles, Stephen Tuffin, Ruth Foster, Jill Warrener, Alisar Am Ali, Adrian Paul and Natalie Watson.  Their stories took us from a 1970s estate to a treehouse, from war-torn Syria to the house next door.

Do have a listen to the recordings of our wonderful Home stories below.  And click here to read Alissar Amali’s story Once Upon A War which was printed in our programme.  Enjoy!

The Stories:

1. Going Home, written and read by Natalie Watson

 

2. A Room With A View, written by Ruth Foster, read by Oliver Langdon

3. Sundays, written and read by Jill Warrener

4. Old Dog, New Tricks, written and read by Elaine Miles

5. Lips, written and read by John Holland

6. Are We Bad People? Written and read by A.R. Paul

7. Secrets, written and read by Steve Tuffin

Fancy a read? 

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