Liars' League

On a Scale of One to Ten by Meg Charlton

On a Scale of One to Ten AUDIO

Read by Harriet Dobby

People always wonder if I’ve ever used it while having sex. As soon as they find out what I do and they’ve had enough to drink, that’s what they ask. That, or they squeeze my arm and tell me, “You’re so brave.” I’ve heard this enough by now to know it’s not a compliment. It’s just code for, “You must be a fucking masochist.” I don’t know. Maybe they’re right.

 

 

Up so High (Feel so Low) by Jennifer Rickard

Up so High (Feel so Low) MP3 

Read by Kim Scopes 

“Don't come near me!” John bellowed at the policeman, the wind almost whipping his words away as he leaned over the precipice. “I'm going to jump!”

He'd watched this bit countless times in films. He expected the policeman to freeze, maybe to back away a bit, to raise his hands and speak soothingly. What he didn't expect was the policeman to shrug and say, “Go on then.”

John blinked. “Sorry, what?”

The policeman gave him a long look, as if he suspected John was a bit touched in the head. “I said,” he repeated, “go on then. Do it if you're going to.”

John paused. The world swam beneath him, glittering with lights. He was so high up. “Aren't you meant to be talking me out of this?”

 

Man Overboard by Barry McKinley

Man Overboard AUDIO

Read by David McGrath

London, October 1979

My boss called out as I passed his office, “oh, oh, oh … Jack …”

I find conversations that begin with “oh, oh, oh …” never end well. He was more nervous and awkward than usual.

“My sister, she um, well she gave me these tickets for the theatre tonight and…”

“Chris, I would love to go to the theatre with you,” I said, even though I would have preferred to stuff a live badger in my pants.

“It’s an Irish play…” he blurted out.

Make that two live badgers.

 

God's Chair by Tom Mitchell

God's Chair AUDIO

Read by Louisa Gummer

‘Sex never survives marriage!’ Dad shouted into the suburban street from his electric wheelchair. The words knocked about the tarmac and brick like a lost tennis ball.

I was eight years old and it had been a turbulent few weeks.

‘It’s not the sex, Frank. It’s the wheelchair,’ said Mum, shepherding me and Amy into the car, arms spread wide in the manner of a distracted limbo dancer.

 

The Emperor of the Air by Peter Saul

The Emperor of the Air AUDIO

Read by Cliff Chapman

Ladies and gentlemen, our venue for tonight's entertainment is Paris. Here an emperor will meet with a mouse – although you shall soon hear how both are merely men.

But first, you may cheer - you may cheer, ladies and gentlemen - as a metaphorical curtain rises upon our stage, revealing the Emperor of the Air, the globe's greatest wirewalker, balanced, precarious, nervous, upon his tightrope. Crowds below fear and jeer as he sways in the increasing breeze.

 

Art is Long, Life is Short by Simon Sylvester

Art is Long, Life is Short AUDIO

Read by Carrie Cohen

Tell you what. Another reporter come to see me. I talk to them through perspex bars. I been talking through perspex bars forever. She’s writing a piece about installation art, no less. She wants my story.

‘Ain’t you heard it all before?’ I says. ‘I spoke to a hundred reporters.’

‘Not to me,’ she says. ‘I want it from the horse’s mouth.’

 

 

High & Low stories picked for Tue Sep 9th!

From the fallen mighty to ambitious upstarts, our High & Low stories have been selected! It's going to be a rollercoaster ride of high art, low life, soft drugs, hard luck, empathy machines, building jumpers, wirewalkers and the world's most embarrassing dad. You should definitely come along.

 

WINNING STORIES FOR HIGH & LOW

Art is Long, Life is Short by Simon Sylvester *NEW AUTHOR* 

God's Chair by Tom Mitchell *NEW AUTHOR* 

On a Scale of 1 to 10 by Meg Charlton *NEW AUTHOR* 

The Emperor of the Air by Peter Saul *NEW AUTHOR*  

Up so High (Feel so Low) by Jennifer Rickard

Man Overboard by Barry McKinley