Taking a Bow

Taking a Bow

Tall And True Short Reads

Taking a Bow

Episode 78 (31 August 2023)

I fell in love with live theatre when I saw my first London West End play as a newly-arrived backpacker in 1987. Over the next eight years, living in Brighton and Windsor, I attended countless professional and amateur productions. But I didn’t think in 1987 that one day I’d be up on stage, too, taking a bow.
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Taking a Bow

Show Notes

Season Three: Episode 78 (31 August 2023)

Taking a Bow is a memoir blog post from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the post on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/blog/taking-a-bow

Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com

Episode 77, My Dreams: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/my-dreams/

Episode 40, My One Night Stand: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/my-one-night-stand/

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

Episode Insight

I shared Taking a Bow on Tall and True in November 2022. Sorting through some papers, I found a bundle of old scripts and theatre programs from England. Among them was the program from my 1991 debut performance, La Môme Piaf. And inside this, I found a fax, still legible after all these years, with handwritten well-wishes from my family in Australia:

  • My Nan wrote: “All the best for your play. I hope your first night is real special.”
  • My Dad joked: “Hope the play goes well and the prompter doesn’t get worn out.”
  • And my brother quoted Shakespeare: “Remember, nothing will come of nothing. Bring the house down.”

While I didn’t include the fax in the blog post, along with the scripts, programs and cast photos, it inspired me to dig out my diary entries and draw on my memories to write Taking a Bow.

And keen podcast listeners may recognise the dreams in the post, where I’m on stage and haven’t learned my lines, and a fellow actor hisses at me, “Improvise.” I used this in Episode 77 of Tall And True Short Reads for the short story, My Dreams, with a few subtle changes:

Then there’s the dream of standing on stage in a packed auditorium, and I’ve forgotten my speech. “Just improvise,” the TEDx director hisses. 

As I admitted in the Story Insight for the My Dreams episode, I draw on elements of autofiction and true sentences for my fiction, and my actor’s anxiety dreams are an example of this.

There are links to the My Dreams episode and Episode 40, My One Night Stand, the story of my one-night as a stand-up comic, in the Show Notes.

I hope you enjoyed Taking a Bow with me. You can read the memoir post (and see my old cast photos) and all my short stories, blog posts and other writing at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Kobo online bookstores — links are available in the show notes.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads, and the first for Season Four, will be released shortly. In the meantime, check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from Seasons One, Two and Three. And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite app — doing so helps me share my storytelling.

You can support this podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

Finally, please tell your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Podcast episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.

Contact Us

Taking a Bow

My Dreams

Tall And True Short Reads

My Dreams

Episode 77 (8 August 2023)

I’m in the middle of a dream, though it might be nearer the beginning or end. Who can tell with dreams? I’m on a rocket, and the final countdown’s begun. “10, 9, 8 …” Then I look down at myself strapped in the seat and see I’m wearing pyjamas. “It’s only a dream,” I reassure myself.
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My Dreams

Show Notes

Season Three: Episode 77 (8 August 2023)

My Dreams is a short story from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/my-dreams

Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

Story Insight

I wrote My Dreams for the Australian Writers’ Centre’s Furious Fiction writing challenge in June 2023. The brief for the 500-word short story was:

  • It had to begin in the MIDDLE of something
  • And include the words LOCKET, POCKET, ROCKET and SOCKET (or longer variations retaining the original spelling).

I set my story in the middle of a dream. And although I’ve never dreamed of a rocket launch, I drew on some of my dreams for the story. For instance, at school in my pyjamas, on a bus in the buff, soaring like an eagle, playing guitar like a legend, forgetting my lines on-stage, and perhaps, once or twice, dreaming of an old girlfriend.

However, as with all my fiction, while I draw on elements of autofiction and a true sentence here and there, most of it is pure imagination. As I mentioned, I’ve never launched a rocket or made a TEDx speech. And my wife is still alive.

But I have dreamed of being visited by departed relatives and even a dear old dog. That doggy dream felt so real I could feel his coarse hair on my fingers when I reached down to pat him. And I found it comforting to touch and see him again.

I hope you enjoyed listening to My Dreams. You can read this and all my short stories and all my short stories, blog posts and other writing at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Kobo online bookstores — links are available in the show notes.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads will be released shortly. In the meantime, check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from Seasons One, Two and Three.

And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite app — doing so helps me share my storytelling.

You can support this podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

And finally, please tell your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Podcast episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.

Contact Us

Taking a Bow

My Most Memorable Wimbledon

Tall And True Short Reads

My Most Memorable Wimbledon

Episode 76 (14 July 2023)

I was weaned on Wimbledon growing up in Australia. Year after year, I’d stayed up half the night to watch the finals on TV. And here I was in the northern hemisphere, able to witness the match in broad daylight for the first time, with an Aussie in the final, for goodness sake, and Mrs B wasn’t interested in tennis!
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My Most Memorable Wimbledon

Show Notes

Season Three: Episode 76 (14 July 2023)

My Most Memorable Wimbledon (originally titled Wimbledon Lost in Translation) is a travel blog post from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the post on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/blog/wimbledon-lost-translation

Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

Episode Insight

I shared My Most Memorable Wimbledon, originally titled Wimbledon Lost in Translation, on Tall and True in September 2018, drawing on my memories and travel journal entries from my trip to Nijemirdum, in the northern Netherlands state of Friesland, with my girlfriend in 1987.

I had got on well with Jan’s mum when I met her in Sydney and was pleased that she’d liked me, too, as Jan assured me when giving his parents’ address. But the look of bewilderment on Mrs B’s face at her front door was likely only matched by my (poorly masked) disappointment that I wouldn’t be watching Pat Cash play in the Wimbledon final.

I later explained to Mrs B, with Roel’s help, that Cash had won Wimbledon. And that instead of asking for badminton rackets and a shuttlecock, I’d tried to tell her this in the morning. Mrs B was embarrassed, but again with Roel’s help, I reassured her that I would always remember 1987 as one of my favourite Wimbledons.

I hope you enjoyed My Most Memorable Wimbledon. You can read Wimbledon Lost in Translation and all my short stories, blog posts and other writing at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Kobo online bookstores — links are available in the show notes.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads will be released shortly. In the meantime, check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from Seasons One, Two and Three.

And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite app — doing so helps me share my storytelling.

You can support this podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

And finally, please tell your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Podcast episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.

Contact Us

Taking a Bow

Past Demons

Tall And True Short Reads

Past Demons

Episode 75 (25 June 2023)

Dylan woke with jackhammers pounding in his head and a tongue so furry it felt like it needed waxing. “Last time,” he croaked, rolling onto his back and resolving to quit drinking again or, at least, to stop bingeing. He stared up at the low ceiling of his studio apartment and replayed the office drinks.
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Past Demons

Show Notes

Season Three: Episode 75 (25 June 2023)

Past Demons is a short story from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/past-demons

Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

Story Insight

I wrote Past Demons (originally titled Demons) for the Australian Writers’ Centre’s May 2023 Furious Fiction writing challenge. The brief for May’s 500-word short story was:

  • It must include a character who is BEING CHASED or doing the CHASING
  • The words BOIL, FRINGE and JUMP (or longer as long as they retain the original spelling)
  • And at least THREE CREATIVE SIMILES.

The simile from my opening sentence, “a tongue so furry it felt like it needed waxing”, occurred to me first. And this set me on the path of writing a story about a man hoping for a fresh start, chased by his past alcoholic demons.

I had no problems finding places for the required words — did you hear them?

But the creative similes proved more difficult than I’d expected. And later, after reading the showcased stories and extra similies that stood out for the Furious Fiction judges, I realised I should have been more creative with mine. Although I was proud of “the bottle shop downstairs called to him like a siren song”.

I hope you enjoyed Past Demons.  You can read this and all my short stories, blog posts and other writing at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle and Kobo online bookstores.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads will be released shortly. In the meantime, check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from Seasons One, Two and Three.

And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite app — doing so helps me share my storytelling.

You can support this podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

Finally, please do the podcast and me a big favour by telling your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Podcast episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.

Contact Us

Taking a Bow

Writing True Sentences

Tall And True Short Reads

Writing True Sentences

Episode 74 (7 June 2023)

The brief for October 2021’s Furious Fiction was to set the short story in a COURT, include a character who measures something, and the words BALLOON, ROCK and UMBRELLA. So recalling Ernest Hemingway’s advice to write one true sentence, I wrote, “The policewoman at the front of the Court is trying to catch my eye.”
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Writing True Sentences

Show Notes

Season Three: Episode 74 (7 June 2023)

Writing True Sentences is a blog post from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the post on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/blog/writing-true-sentences

Read the Judgement short story on Talll And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/judgement

Listen to Judgement on Tall And True Short Reads: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/judgement/

Read The Al-Rabie Hotel on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/the-al-rabie-hotel

Listen to The Al-Rabie Hotel on Tall And True Short Reads: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/the-al-rabie-hotel/

Read Signs of the Second Coming on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/microfiction/signs-of-the-second-coming

Listen to Signs of the Second Coming on Tall And True Short Reads: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com/signs-of-the-second-coming/

Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

Episode Insight

I shared the Writing True Sentences blog post on Tall and True in October 2021, a week after submitting my entry for that month’s Furious Fiction challenge, titled Judgement.

As often happens, my short story didn’t win or get short or long-listed for Furious Fiction. But I shared it later on Tall And True, and in March 2022, I narrated Judgement as Episode 48 of Tall And True Short Reads.

I also shared the other short stories mentioned in this blog post on Tall And True, The Al-Ra bie Hotel and Signs of the Second Coming. And I narrated them as Episodes 12 and 25, respectively, for Tall And True Short Reads. Links to these stories and podcast episodes are available in the show notes.

I hope you enjoyed this episode. You can read Writing True Sentences and all my short stories, blog posts and other writing at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle and Kobo online bookstores.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads will be released shortly. In the meantime, check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from Seasons One, Two and Three.

And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite app — doing so helps me share my storytelling.

You can support this podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

Finally, please do the podcast a big favour and tell your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Podcast episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.

Contact Us

Taking a Bow

Family Reflections

Tall And True Short Reads

Family Reflections

Episode 73 (9 May 2023)

Mum’s up first, though she doesn’t like looking at her reflection nowadays. She splashes her face and turns away from me with a towel. Over her shoulder, I watch Mum gaze out the bathroom window. And when she turns back, Mum’s wearing her pained expression again, like she’s failed to solve the riddle of life.
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Family Reflections

Show Notes

Season Three: Episode 73 (9 May 2023)

Family Reflections is a short story from the Tall And True writers’ website, written and narrated by Robert Fairhead.

Read the story on Tall And True: https://www.tallandtrue.com.au/fiction/short-stories/family-reflections

Podcast website: https://www.tallandtrueshortreads.com

Support the podcast: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads

Buy Robert’s short story collections online:

Story Insight

I wrote Family Reflections (originally titled Morning Reflections) for the Australian Writers’ Centre’s April 2023 Furious Fiction writing challenge. The brief for April was:

  • The 500-word short story had to have something that CHANGES COLOUR
  • Include the words ACCEPT, POINT, RIDDLE, INKLING and LABEL (did you hear them?)
  • And the story had to have an ENGAGING OPENING SENTENCE that would make readers want to read on.

My first idea was a dark piece on domestic violence, opening with a woman staring at her bruised face in a mirror. However, I decided I couldn’t tell that story, so I abandoned it. But I kept the mirror … and gave it the narrator’s voice.

I enjoyed exploring the possibilities of a bathroom mirror, *reflecting* on the family. As an older dad, I recognised its melancholy, recalling Tilly and Zane’s younger days and worry over the effects of ageing on Mum and Dad. And I’m sure the family and I are not alone in confiding confidences and concerns to our reflections with no inkling that the mirror may be listening to us.

April 2023 marked the third anniversary of my first Furious Fiction, A Song on the Radio  (Episode 4 of Tall And True Short Reads), written on the first weekend of the COVID lockdown in Australia in April 2020. And Family Reflections was my twenty-seventh short story submitted to the challenge.

And [drum roll, please], after three years, it was the first of my short stories showcased on the Writers’ Centre’s website (as Morning Reflections) — the perfect anniversary gift!

It was also one of my most time-squeezed stories, with weekend family and footy commitments meaning I could only fit in short bursts of writing. But three years of Furious Fiction gave me confidence in my process and ability to write and submit the story by the Sunday midnight deadline.

I hope you enjoyed Family Reflections. You can read this and all my short stories, blog posts and other writing at TallAndTrue.com. You can also buy my short story collections from the Amazon Kindle and Kobo online bookstores.

The next episode of Tall And True Short Reads will be released shortly. In the meantime, check your feed or the podcast website for earlier episodes from Seasons One, Two and Three, including a Song on the Radio.

And follow or subscribe to the podcast and rate and review it via your favourite app — doing so helps me share my storytelling.

You can support this podcast financially by making a small one-off or regular donation via the Acast Supporter Page.

Finally, please do this podcast a favour by telling your family and friends about Tall And True Short Reads and the Tall And True writers’ website.

Podcast Theme and Sound Effects

Royalty-free music from Pixabay.com: Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 ‘Pastorale’ – IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non-Troppo, performed by Karine Gilanyan.

Sound effects licensed under Creative Commons 0 from FreeSound.org:

Production Notes

Tall And True Short Reads is produced using Audacity.

Podcast episodes are recorded in Sydney, Australia, on the traditional lands of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation.

Acast Podcast Supporter Page

Support this show: https://supporter.acast.com/tall-and-true-short-reads.

Contact Us