Actors championing Australian short stories

Love short stories and want to hear them read by professional actors on stage? Come to Newtown or listen to the podcast.
Six panels. The top three comprise a man and two women, the bottom comprise a man and two women.

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.”

Unlock Padlock Icon

Unlock this content?

Access this content and more

Thuy On is the Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian. She has three collections of poetry published by the University of Western Australian Press (UWAP): Turbulence (2020), Decadence (2022) and Essence (2025). Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy