All of the words I said out loud for S01E11 of Audio Drama Debut, my podcast showcasing new audio drama, fiction and RPG trailers.
F/X - Fountain pen writing, and then being capped.
THE DIRECTOR: Hmm? What. *displeased noise*
Don't stand around by the door, you're making the place look untidy. We've got chairs, I'm sure you know how they work, so chop chop. (Pause.) That's better. Welcome to the Library of Audio Drama. It contains dramas, books, stories, actual plays and a few other things.
Now it seems that the librarian's usual practice is to offer our visitors a cup of tea. According to the notes he left, somewhere in this shambolic office of his is a teapot and a packet of Darjeeling, but I'm a coffee drinker, so it's coffee or nothing. You're in luck, as I've just made my third cafetiere, and that's the one that usually doesn't get completely finished.
There you are, one cup of a Guatemalan blend. What? No, of course I don't have cream or sugar. Drink it properly.
Now, you're almost certainly wondering who I am, and where the ordinary librarian is. Well to the first question, I'm the Director. The Acquisitions Librarian is beneath me. (Beat) In the library's hierarchy.
And to your second question, it would seem all of this situation with Covid-19 has taken something of a toll on his, never terribly reliable, mental state. We didn't hear from him for three days, so we assembled a small team of cataloguers and set them to looking. They tend to be excellent at discovering things lost in the library.
He was finally found down in the secretum, unconscious and disheveled, having scrawled "the crows are coming" over and over on the walls in a sticky red fluid. Later investigations determined that it was raspberry jam.
He's currently having a little rest in the self-help wing of the Greater Library, trying to catch up on all of his listening. He won't, of course, but it's nice to have a goal. I believe he's trying to listen to shows that might be restful, which means he's mostly focusing on ones related to dreams or sleep. Would those be of interest to you? There's one about a sleep therapy experiment, or one about a world in which people can't sleep or they die, or finally one about a woman who brings her dreams into the world with her when she wakes.
No? He's been feeding you new releases, has he? I do wish he would learn to look at his own job description sometimes. He's the Acquisitions Librarian. He's meant to take shows in, not hand them back out.
Well, I suppose you are one of our visitors, so in the interim I can play you a few trailers for some of the newer shows. But no more than four, and after you've listened, straight out with you.
Here's the synopsis from the first. Your friends are moving on. You're figuring out how to move forward. NEXT STOP is an audio sitcom about your mid-to-late 20s when everyone is changing around you—and you worry that you might not catch up. When longtime roommates Cam and Ally search for someone to replace their newly engaged former roommate, they stumble upon the iconoclast and ridiculous Samuel Clemens. Across its ten-episode first season, NEXT STOP follows these roommates’ trials through work, relationships, friendships and more.
[CLIP - Next Stop]
Then, Ex Pat, which has a very short synopsis. A guy. A girl. Two cultures, two countries, an ocean of craziness.
[CLIP - Ex Pat]
Then it's Somebody Killed Mom. Eve’s been struggling since her retirement. Cancelling appointments, forgetting simple things…sleeping an awful lot. Her three kids are worried. When the oldest decides to check in on Eve before heading off to an important work dinner, the simple visit turns into something much bigger, and darker, than anyone could have predicted.
Through found audio - phone calls, Facetime, Skype, live social media posts and recordings caught by unwitting bystanders - listen in as Abi, Kay and Joey work with, and sometimes against, each other as they try to piece together what happened…and who’s to blame.
[CLIP - Somebody Killed Mom]
And finally a show that's just about to come out, Radio Elusia. These are the messages. This is the meaning. Be ready. Be listening. And do not be afraid. From the seventeenth floor, Raphael watches the city for signs of a revolution, his voice echoing through a homemade radio transmitter to the streets below. He watches. He waits. One day, he disappears. Now, years later, it’s down to Lia and Suz to continue where he left off. But will a revolution ever come if we just wait for it?
[CLIP - Radio Elusia]
And that's that. I hope those were useful to you, but if not, feel free to come back next week for some more. He'll be back by then. Or else.
If you need to tell us about any shows that we don't have, you can contact us via Twitter - the social media team are continuing to work as normal, as they work from home. The handle is @AudioDramaDebut.
Right, that's that. You remember where the door is.