StorySALOON aims to grow the audience for Australian short stories by curating select published works and platforming them on stage as well as on air via a weekly podcast. The organisation is planning its second event, with several more to come.
Jane Messer, Founder, Chief Saloonist and host of the shows, says: “We were thrilled by how much our audience loved this format of short stories read by actors. Our first show in April sold out in under a week, and people are returning for the 6 May 2025 show. StorySALOON is designed to transport you into the world of the story, while having a fun, inexpensive night out. Our first show proved our recipe works.”
But why have actors rather than the writers read the stories?
“The authors excel at writing. The actors excel at performance and engaging with the audience,” Messer explains. “They bring new and sometimes surprising interpretations to each story. We’re honoured to be working with actors who have been honing their craft for many years, and emerging talent through our partnership with NIDA.
“We’re growing an audience who may not have consciously picked up a short story before, people who love stories but haven’t been able to access them, as well as the avid readers and theatre lovers.”
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The 6 May show will include the following short stories:
- ‘Aitu’, by emerging Samoan Australian writer Oliver Coulter, is a road story about two young men heading back to Darwin with special cargo. Chris Alosio will be reading.
- ‘GPS’, by award-winning writer Cate Kennedy, is a darkly comic short story that’s both fairy tale and a realistic narrative about a girl alone in bushland. Jules Billington will be reading.
- ‘Baggage Claim’, by Paddy O’Reilly, an award-winning short story writer and novelist, centres on a young couple’s post-Bali trip temptation to open another traveller’s suitcase and play dress-ups. Monica Sayers will be reading.
StorySALOON Podcast episodes each feature a short story recorded at the live show. Messer says, “This is the first Australian podcast devoted to presenting our best published short stories. This podcast series is going to become a unique archive of Australian short stories by diverse writers from all over Australia, performed by talented Australian actors.”
Upcoming StorySALOON show dates: 6 May, 3 June, 5 August, 2 September, 7 October on the first Tuesdays of the month. The live readings are held at The Vanguard, 42 King Street, Newtown, NSW. If you can’t see it live on stage, listen to the weekly podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
