Hello and welcome to WORDTheatre Weekly: The Short Story Podcast where great authors and great actors meet! I’m your host, Cedering Fox, WORDTheatre's Founder & Artistic Director. Given the recent US election and the amount of attention the country is getting, we decided to spend the next few weeks across the pond. For the next few weeks, we'll be sharing performances from the Best British Short Stories series, edited by Nicholas Royle 2010-2024, recorded live in London on September 26th. But first, to transport you to the British Isles, here is one of the musical pieces composed specifically for this event by Lewis Kane, musical director & accordion player, accompanied by Lewis Kelly on fiddle & piano and Michael Ekeghasi on percussion. And you will hear more on the end credits.

MUSIC PLAYS

We're kicking this series off with the finale of the evening, "An Invocation" by Ben Tufnell, which was performed by actor Con O'Neill.

A little bit about Ben before you hear him in his own words:

Ben is a writer and curator based in London who has published widely on modern and contemporary art, in particular on artforms that engage with ideas of landscape and nature. His stories have been published in numerous respected anthologies, he has been longlisted for several short story prizes including the BBC Short Story Award and shortlisted for the Society of Authors’ ALCS Tom-Gallon Trust Award. The North Shore is his debut novel. An invocation can be found in Best BRitish SHort Stories 2024!

Here now, is Ben to introduce his story.

BEN TUFNELL INTRO

While you might not know his name, Con O'Neill is an acclaimed English actor who has a face you recognize from seeing it everywhere! He began his career in the theatre, where he won a Laurence Olivier Award for his role in the musical Blood Brothers. This same role garnered him nominations for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award. He has appeared in numerous films and television series, including The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Chernobyl, Happy Valley and Our Flag Means Death.

Please note that WORDTheatre holds the copyright to these recordings and no portion of anything you hear on the short story podcast may be reproduced without permission.

And now, here is Con O'Neill performing Ben Tufnell's, “An Invocation.”

AN INVOCATION PLAYS

Thank you for listening to Con O'Neill's performance of "An Invocation" by Ben Tufnell, recorded live in London during and evening of Selections from Best British Short Stories 2010-2024 on September 26th, 2024.

Please consider becoming a WORDTheatre Member. You can join from anywhere in the world and watch videos from the comfort of your own home and if you are near the UK, check out our new website WORDTheatreUK.org. We have a full calendar of live events being planned in LA, NY and around the UK for 2025!

As always, I'd like to thank Philanthropist/Benefactor, Ola Strom, and the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture for their ongoing support and the WORDTheatre Team. Until next week, this is Cedering Fox, signing off!!