The Painkiller Podcast

An anxious patient consults with a therapist about a problem that threatens to destroy him. But, as the session progresses, the patient starts to wonder whether the therapist might be part of the problem. The Barrell of Laughs was written by Charles Macpherson and performed by David Verrey and Sam Thorpe Spinks. It was directed by Max Elton with sound design by Piers Sherwood Roberts. Through The Painkiller Project, Bitter Pill has been collaborating with emerging playwrights since April 2020. This is our last episode of the podcast and we want to thank everyone who has listened over the last couple of years – it has been a special experience.

You have been listening to Slippy Maggie, written by Miranda Langley, and starring Lesley Sharp as Jeanette. Slippy Maggie was directed by Alice Fitzgerald with sound design by Nicola T Chang. It was produced by Hew Rous-Eyre. Through The Painkiller Project, Bitter Pill has been collaborating with emerging playwrights since April 2020. Visit our website or follow us on Twitter for updates of upcoming submission windows. If you would like to support the work we do, please consider pledging to our Patreon to make a donation that would be repeated each time a new play is released. Alternatively, you can make a one-off donation through PayPal. Any donation made would mean the world to us. For more information, follow the links in the description. You can also support the project by sharing it with your friends and giving us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. Thank you for listening.

The problem with theory is that once you’ve started, you can’t stop.” A student sits down to begin work on her dissertation. She has things to say but she’s finding it difficult to say them, and before long she begins to spiral. You have been listening to Serve, Fault, Ace by Lucy Curtis, starring Rebekah Murrell. Serve, Fault, Ace was directed by Goerge Nichols with sound design by Alice Boyd. Through The Painkiller Project, Bitter Pill has been collaborating with emerging playwrights since April 2020. Visit our website or follow us on Twitter for updates of upcoming submission windows. If you would like to support the work we do, please consider pledging to our Patreon to make a donation that would be repeated each time a new play is released. Alternatively, you can make a one-off donation through PayPal. Any donation made would mean the world to us. For more information, follow the links in the description. You can also support the project by sharing it with your friends and giving us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. Thank you for listening.

Foreseeing an endless succession of disasters and tragedies awaiting them beneath the streets of London, Charlotte and Samuel will do anything it takes in order to stay out of harm’s way. You have been listening to God of Circles by Billy Brooks, starring Amelia Bullmore and Tom Rosenthal. God of Circles was directed by Max Elton with sound design by Marcus Rice. Through The Painkiller Project, Bitter Pill has been collaborating with emerging playwrights since April 2020. Visit our website or follow us on Twitter for updates of upcoming submission windows. If you would like to support the work we do, please consider pledging to our Patreon to make a donation that would be repeated each time a new play is released. Alternatively, you can make a one-off donation through PayPal. Any donation made would mean the world to us. For more information, follow the links in the description. You can also support the project by sharing it with your friends and giving us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. Thank you for listening.

Passing a restaurant window, a woman feels a powerful sense of connection to a man sitting inside, and is compelled to enter... Deja Vu was written by Sarah Baylis. It was performed by Amy Loughton, directed by Nicky Allpress, with sound design by Joseff Harris. It was produced by Max Elton. Through The Painkiller Project, Bitter Pill has been collaborating with emerging playwrights since April 2020. Visit our website or follow us on Twitter for updates of upcoming submission windows. If you would like to support the work we do, please consider pledging to our Patreon to make a donation that would be repeated each time a new play is released. Alternatively, you can make a one-off donation through PayPal. Any donation made would mean the world to us. For more information, follow the links in the description. You can also support the project by sharing it with your friends and giving us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. Thank you for listening.

Kyla and Dario are here to execute a job. Kyla has a knife. Dario has a secret. I Love Television was written by Matthew Stephen Smith and performed by Tamara Lawrance as Kyla and Philip Arditti as Dario. It was directed by Oscar Toeman with sound design and composition by Jack Baxter. It was produced by Max Elton. Through The Painkiller Project, Bitter Pill has been collaborating with emerging playwrights since April 2020. Visit our website or follow us on Twitter for updates of upcoming submission windows. If you would like to support the work we do, please consider pledging to our Patreon to make a donation that would be repeated each time a new play is released. Alternatively, you can make a one-off donation through PayPal. Any donation made would mean the world to us. For more information, follow the links in the description. You can also support the project by sharing it with your friends and giving us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. Thank you for listening.

Ann works at Poundland. It isn’t the most exciting job, but when the gorgeous Larry Simmons walks in, that quickly starts to change. Two Fingers was written and performed by Rosaleen Cox, with Declan Rodgers as Larry. It was directed by Hannah Hauer-King with sound design by Piers Sherwood Roberts. It was produced by Hew Rous-Eyre. CONTENT WARNING: Towards the end of this episode there are graphic descriptions of an eating disorder which some listeners may find upsetting. Through The Painkiller Project, Bitter Pill has been collaborating with emerging playwrights since April 2020. Visit our website or follow us on Twitter for updates of upcoming submission windows. If you would like to support the work we do, please consider pledging to our Patreon to make a donation that would be repeated each time a new play is released. Alternatively, you can make a one-off donation through PayPal. Any donation made would mean the world to us. For more information, follow the links in the description. You can also support the project by sharing it with your friends and giving us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. Thank you for listening.

Cathy is gardening. Or at least, she’s pretending to. The truth is she’s looking for something. Something she doesn’t necessarily want to find. The Dig was written by Stephen Condor. It was performed by Hannah Stokley and directed by Evangeline Cullingworth with sound design by Marcus Rice. It was produced by Hew Rous-Eyre. Through The Painkiller Project, Bitter Pill has been collaborating with emerging playwrights since April 2020. Visit our website or follow us on Twitter for updates of upcoming submission windows. If you would like to support the work we do, please consider pledging to our Patreon to make a donation that would be repeated each time a new play is released. Alternatively, you can make a one-off donation through PayPal. Any donation made would mean the world to us. For more information, follow the links in the description. You can also support the project by sharing it with your friends and giving us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. Thank you for listening.

Fracture Mechanics was written by Hester Styles-Vickery. It was performed by Kate O’Flynn. Fracture Mechanics was directed by Georgie Staight with sound design by Nicola T Chang. It was produced by Hew Rous-Eyre. Through The Painkiller Project, Bitter Pill has been collaborating with emerging playwrights since April 2020. Visit our website or follow us on Twitter for updates of upcoming submission windows. If you would like to support the work we do, please consider pledging to our Patreon to make a donation that would be repeated each time a new play is released. Alternatively, you can make a one-off donation through PayPal. Any donation made would mean the world to us. For more information, follow the links in the description. You can also support the project by sharing it with your friends and giving us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. Thank you for listening.

"A young woman has a question to ask. It’s a big question, it could change everything. She needs to be prepared." Tree Rings was written by Mandy Wheeler. It was performed by Breffni Holahan as Amy and Sarah Woodward as the Director. Tree Rings was directed and produced by Max Elton with sound design by Marcus Rice. Through The Painkiller Project, Bitter Pill has been collaborating with emerging playwrights since April 2020. Visit our website or follow us on Twitter for updates of upcoming submission windows. If you would like to support the work we do, please consider pledging to our Patreon to make a donation that would be repeated each time a new play is released. Alternatively, you can make a one-off donation through PayPal. Any donation made would mean the world to us. For more information, follow the links in the description. You can also support the project by sharing it with your friends and giving us a five star rating on Apple Podcasts. Thank you for listening.

Ethan’s a different person when he’s drunk. And one morning, clearing up after the night before turns out to be a bigger job than he’d expected. Clear-Up was written by Charlotte Cromie and performed by Daniel Ings. It was directed by Dom Riley with sound design by Piers Sherwood Roberts. This production is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England However, it is still crucial that we raise additional funds to support the continuation of the project. If you enjoy our work and would like to support it, you can either: PayPalPatreon page

A social media moderator is forced to view thousands of graphic images every day. At a toddler’s birthday party, she finds herself plagued by intrusive thoughts. Moderation was written by Alice McKee and performed by Freya Mavor. It was directed by Max Elton with sound design and music by Jack Baxter. This production is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England However, it is still crucial that we raise additional funds to support the continuation of the project. If you enjoy our work and would like to support it, you can either: PayPalPatreon page

It can be easy and simple, it can be fun and sexy, but sometimes it can be more. A nude image is not just a photo – but also a reflection of our hopes and dreams. Send Nudes was written and performed by Katie Burnett. It was directed by Joshua Roche with sound design by Joseff Harris. This production is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England However, it is still crucial that we raise additional funds to support the continuation of the project. If you enjoy our work and would like to support it, you can either: PayPalPatreon page

Alfred is desperate to get in the bath but for his own good, Marjory won’t let him. He knows she’s right of course, but surely one toe wouldn’t hurt? Bath Time was written by Daisy Hall and performed by Jason Watkins and Anna Chancellor. It was directed by Hannah de Ville and sound designed by Tingying Dong. This production is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England However, it is still crucial that we raise additional funds to support the continuation of the project. If you enjoy our work and would like to support it, you can either: PayPalPatreon page

Gina is flying home from Puerto Rico when her plane makes an unscheduled stop. Before long, she is in an interrogation room, trying to answer some awkward questions about the contents of her suitcase. Sharp was written by Cat Kolubayev and performed by Aisling Franciosi and Troy Alexander. It was directed by Alice Fitzegerald with sound design by Annie May Fletcher. This audio play is based on a true story although some aspects have been dramatised for effect. This production is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England However, it is still crucial that we raise additional funds to support the continuation of the project. If you enjoy our work and would like to support it, you can either: PayPalPatreon page

Feeling the rumblings of violence and social collapse, a woman prepares for the end of the world. As she does, it becomes increasingly clear that everyone else is ignoring the inevitable. Tremors was written by Nadya Menuhin and performed by Tamsin Greig. It was directed by Max Elton and sound designed by Max Pappenheim. This production is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England However, it is still crucial that we raise additional funds to support the continuation of the project. If you enjoy our work and would like to support it, you can either: PayPalPatreon page

"I have lied about a lot of things. I have lied about where I live, how old I am, about why I’m late to the party. I have lied about reading certain books, about visiting certain countries, about having an A in GCSE Spanish. I have lied about who I’ve slept with, about who I’ve wanted to sleep with, about wanting to go on second dates. I am not a liar, though. I am not a liar." After an odd first date, Jamie begins to question her relationship with the truth. Embellishing a story is one thing, but what happens when you go too far. Fib was written by Annie Williams and performed by Aimie Atkinson. It was directed by Hannah Hauer-King with sound design by Nicola T Chang. This production is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England However, it is still crucial that we raise additional funds to support the continuation of the project. If you enjoy our work and would like to support it, you can either: PayPalPatreon page

"We both agreed that I was the funny one in the relationship. The only joke I ever told she didn't like was that one about those little Thai footy fellas that fell down that well and had to be scoobied out by that fella that turned out to not be a paedophile. And fair play, that joke was in bad taste. I'm a big enough man to admit that. Some men wouldn't. She never gave me enough credit for that, how big I can be." As Ainsley delivers a mysterious parcel for a former lover, he contemplates how he has ended up here and what it means to be a modern man. BOX TICKING stars Conor MacNeill (Industry, The Fall; BBC) as Ainsley. It was written by Robert Darke and directed by Grace Vaughan, with sound design by Piers Sherwood Roberts. The Painkiller Project is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. However, it is still crucial that we raise additional funds to support the continuation of the project. If you enjoy our work and would like to support it, you can either: PayPalPatreon page

Deep in the heart of the Devon countryside, Billie and her boyfriend are trying to enjoy a romantic getaway when they are interrupted by a strange encounter. As her boyfriend searches for help, Billie decides to take the problem into her own hands. ‘Breech’ asks what it really means to do the right thing and the danger of intervening in something you know nothing about. Breech was written by Georgia Green and performed by Jessica Clark. It was directed by Emma Jude Harris with sound design by Lex Kosanke. The Painkiller Project is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. However, it is still crucial that we raise additional funds to support the continuation of the project. If you enjoy our work and would like to support it, you can either: PayPalPatreon page

"They say travel broadens the mind. It’s flattened mine. I really should think about leaving this hostel soon. This hostel’s largely the problem, I suspect. There’s a younger crowd here. The Utopians, I call them. I’ve lived a little longer than them, which means I’ve fallen out of step. I’ve no interest in salvation or renewal, and they can sense that, and they’ve closed ranks as a result. The more I upset them, the more... well how do I even describe it?" As he binges on DVDs in the Cinema Room of a Colombian Hostel, a man approaching middle-age contemplates how hopelessly adrift he feels from his younger guests. Falling in and out of consciousness, he can’t help but think there are darker forces at play. The Utopians is performed by Tom Mothersdale. It was written by Joe Regan and directed by Tom MacQueen, with sound design from Piers Sherwood-Roberts. The Painkiller Project is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. However, it is still crucial that we raise additional funds to support the continuation of the project. If you enjoy our work and would like to support it, you can either: PayPalPatreon page