Liars' League

The Mondegreen by Esther Cleverly

Read by Katy Darby

I leave work early, find the bus-stop and stand watching old ladies smoke and feeling jealous. I guess once you’re seventy-odd you got nothing to lose. The smell of cigarette smoke reminds me of Sam now, especially Marlboro Reds. The old lady I’m standing next to is smoking a Winston, but still, I think of him. Waiting, in the motel room. Smoking on the balcony, maybe, bourbon in hand. I don’t let him smoke in bed in case David smells it on me. Smart, huh?

 

Charlie Parker, not Parker Knoll by Alan McCormick

Charlie Parker, not Parker Knoll MP3

Read by Cliff Chapman

I am lodging at Mrs Smart’s lime green fronted guesthouse situated on one of Worthing’s least promising streets. A seaside view is afforded, albeit over a garage; where my room is perfunctorily furnished, it is also mercifully dust free. My lone fellow guest is a Mister Jacques Kerouac; nominally of North American nationality but combining, as he is wont to tell us, Breton-Indian antecedents.

A Musical Note by Alan Graham

A Musical Note MP3

Read by Clareine Cronin

My dear Nigel,

By the time you read this, I will be long gone and far away. However I feel I could not just disappear without offering some explanation as to what you witnessed earlier today at the Nottingham Smartphone Sales Conference and why I fled the way I did. It must have seemed so peculiar to you, but it relates to something I have lived with for years.

The Busby Berkeley Academy by Mark Romasko

The Busby Berkeley Academy MP3

 Read by Lin Sagovsky

“Action! Take two.”

The dancers began to move as one, climbing the curved steps beside the pools in mirrored lines, spinning themselves full circle, twirling umbrellas between their fingertips. Each was dressed in white, with identical caps and shorts, legs swishing by each other in near-transparent tights. From the back a third line, in blue and white striped bathing suits, took up positions near the water. They faced the side camera, turned their heads left, right, then left again, and smiled. Then they jumped, one, two, three …

“Stop!”

Crossroads by Liam Hogan

Crossroads MP3

Read by Terence Anderson

The devil was waiting at the crossroads.

“Howdy.” I said as I drew level. He was sat on a fence that looked too slight to hold him. Not that he was a big fella, he was kinda slim and about my height. Well dressed. His ancient face weathered and tanned.

He gave me a nod.

“Been here long?” I asked.

The Glorious Dolores by Amanda Oosthuizen

The Glorious Dolores MP3

Read by Carrie Cohen

Year after year I’ve driven this road from Casa Bodega to Bar Merengue along the River Paraguay. Every evening we drive past the hummingbirds roosting like magical fruit in the pink lapacho trees. Children sleep in their orange-crates while over their heads, the plastic sheeting roofs of la chacarita rattle in a breeze scented by excrement and roasting beef. Somewhere a goat wanders to the end of its tether and steps into the river for a drink, and the piranha shift across the riverbed like a creeping silver shadow.

Song & Dance headliners for March 12 gig!

A-one! A-two! A-one-two-three-four!

"SONG & DANCE! We got it
SONG & DANCE! You want it
Jazz hands, big bands, blues and romance
It's all here in SONG & DANCE!"

Which is our unique (ahem) way of saying that we've got a wonderful six-part harmony of stories for our SONG & DANCE event on Tuesday March 12th (doors at 7pm, show at 7.30 and toe-tapping Facebook event here!)

There's torch songs, showtunes, devilish blues, chorus girls, dance routines, crazy solos and guest spots from Busby Berkeley, Billy Joel and Jack Kerouac - and we can promise that nobody will be doing the Harlem Shake. Top of the pops ain't even in it, daddio! And all for just £5 on the door ...

STORIES CHOSEN
Charlie Parker, not Parker Knoll by Alan McCormick, read by Cliff Chapman
A Musical Note by Alan Graham, read by Clareine Cronin
Crossroads by Liam Hogan, read by Terence Anderson
The Mondegreen by Esther Cleverly, read by Sarah le Fevre (hopefully)
The Busby Berkeley Academy by Mark Romasko *NEW AUTHOR*, read by Lin Sagovsky
The Glorious Dolores by Amanda Oosthuizen *NEW AUTHOR*, read by Carrie Cohen

So "swing" by The Phoenix on Tuesday 12th March and you'll have a "ball(room)" - "waltz" have you "foxtrot" to lose? (That's enough appalling dance puns - Ed).

WHERE AND WHEN?

Liars' League events are held at 7.30pm (doors open at 7pm) on the second Tuesday of every month. There's a list of our 2013 dates here.  Tickets cost £5 on the door (cash only, no advance booking) and seating is unreserved - so it's a good idea to get there a bit ahead of time if you want a good table.

The venue is downstairs at:
The Phoenix
37 Cavendish Square
London
W1G 0PP

(The Phoenix is 5 minutes' walk from Oxford Circus tube station, which is on the Victoria, Bakerloo and Central lines). Map here

PS: want more?

Liars' League Hong Kong had their first event and it was mighty! Check out the 8 brilliant videos here.

Liar Katy is writing short story workshops for Mslexia: click for Beginning and Character advice.

Tue 26th March: Our actors read the winning stories from the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2013 fiction competition at their Bloomsbury prizegiving event http://pages.bloomsbury.com/bloomsburyinstitute/liarsleagueshortstoryspecial