The building that is Hampton Hill Theatre was opened in 1999. We are celebrating our 25th birthday throughout the year with a variety of events. These events include a short series of podcasts about the history of the building and some of the people who made it happen. As an introduction to this series we’ve recorded a chat between Lottie Walker, c…

"The final victory of sci-fi is its final defeat," says AK, gnomically, before we sing the Beverly Hills Cop theme tune and talk about trombones. Join us for a discussion of 'the best fiction novel of the 20th century', A Wizard of Earthsea, and its masterful magic system: from Native American folklore to shamanism, demonic to natural theurgy, and …

Lord of the Rings + Narnia + Jane Austen = ? A smash-hit 800-page faux-Victorian novel of realist magic and alternate histories, of course! Welcome to the world of Susanna Clarke, whose rules-based, Mametian and very 'English' magic system is one of the best we've had the good fortune to meet. Join us for a discussion of made-up magical scholarship…

Author. Visionary. Dreamweaver. Plus bellhop. Meet Jack Vance, one of the most inventive fantasy authors we've ever heard of, and probably not a pirate king. What happens when fairies become too lumpen and earthy? Why are Lvl1 wizards in D&D so rubbish? Who is Larkin the Baby-Stealer, and why are you reaching for that kazoo? We talk Cugel the Cleve…

"If magic works, why isn't the President of the United States doing it?" After a 'brief' hiatus, we're back! We pick up where we left off and talk about the magic of Doctor Faustus, whether magic is 'liberation or damnation', and the distinction between ceremonial magic and what specialists term 'Doing A Big Spell'. Games / books mentioned in this …

Welcome to a new season, all about magic and literature! We talk William Shakespeare's Tempest, from women-wizards from Algiers to royal demonology. Caliban's Moth, Ariel's Lantern and AK nearly dies in a spiegel tent. Games / books mentioned in this episode, for your gaming / reading pleasure: - "The Tempest", by William Shakespeare - Against Worl…

What makes games 'savoury'? Why is Twitter such a bad place to get game design advice? And is it ever sensible to push a count off a cliff? This episode, Lottie and Alexis talk art, games and critique, through architect Christopher Alexander to Jack Cohen and Brian Aldiss' fight over speculative xenobiology in Helliconia. Listen to avoid the perils…

Hiraeth? Sensucht? Saudade? Listen to Alexis and Lottie cry as we talk nostalgia, sequels and games, from 17th-century Swiss cowbells to sailing away from your loved ones into danger. We talk transmission of experience from one generation to the next, the future of games as gamers get old, and the impossible loss of childhood - and why that's not s…

Ahead of Loot going on stage at Hampton Hill Theatre, Christine Wayman interviews the director, Nigel Cole who sets the scene for this glorious black farce from one of Britain’s finest and filthiest playwrights! Teddington Theatre Club's production of Loot takes to the stage at Hampton Hill Theatre on 7-11th December 2021.…

The conclusion of an epic two-parter. Who would win in a fight between TRPGs and CRPGs? What happens if a giant worm swallows a city? Is a dolphin the same as a cat? We attempt to answer these questions with appeals to Simon Baron-Cohen's empathising-systemising theory, work out why TRPGs rely so heavily on rule-sets when lots of people don't follo…

"I don't want to be Elfstar anymore! I want to be Debbie!" Join us for a romp through tabletop gaming's earliest origins and the effect its had on modern video games. Well, that was the intention. We actually stop around the 1980s with fundamental Christianity and a woman called Janine who is bad at charades. But we talk about the defining characte…

TTC's Artistic Director, Lottie Walker talks to playwright and actor, Lily Bevan about our forthcoming production of her play Zoo and Seven Monologues which will be on stage at Hampton Hill Theatre from 6th -10th July 2021. If you would like to book tickets, go to https://www.hamptonhilltheatre.org.uk/productions/zoo-and-seven-monologues…

Real talk: APOPHENIA. Alexis and Lottie discuss subliminal pattern-seeking from its coinage by a Nazi psychologist to its use by modern indie game developers to cover up the fact we don't have any budget. Wait! We meant to make clever, co-operative immersive experiences. All via werewives, apophanies and Zhou Enlai. Games / books mentioned in this …

This episode is about sex and games and the libertine novels of eighteenth-century France. From Talleyrand, the Napoleonic clergyman and diplomat, through to Cindy Crawford, Peter Bradshaw and Amouranth, the Twitch streamer scandal du jour, we talk erotica, porn and those anime sex games you see all the time on Steam. Listen for the power of 'not f…

Join Alexis and Lottie for a discussion of antagonists and villains! Via witches, Belgium, Simon Baron-Cohen, a charming Irish vagabond and, of course, Nazism. Alexis talks about how rubbish games are and destroys Lottie's argument; Lottie talks about five-hour Polish art films and producers stopping developers from kicking each other in the nads. …

What's the connection between the Labyrinths of Night and the Bright Ditches? This question and many more we don't really answer in this episode on mazes, labyrinths and game design. Meet labrys, the lesbianic double-headed axe. Leave kittens in mazes and form human chains in swampy MUDs. Learn Alexis Kennedy's First Law of Narrative. Cake. Also, L…

Skeleton Songs season two, baby! This season's all about GAMES, but not as you know 'em. Join Alexis and Lottie as we discuss genre via Aristotle and Wittgenstein, cyberpunk and film noir, the Berlin Interpretation and, er, fish genitalia. Also there is an odd bit about tortoises in the rain but perhaps Alexis's medicine was wearing off then. Games…

Written by E Nesbit and ready by Sally Halsey Three girls are told a late-night tale of evil, the tragic ending of which hits too close to home.By Teddington Theatre Club

Written by Olivia Howard Dunbar and read by Heather Stockwell Frances has just passed away, but she can't pass over - not quite yet. The story of three people, two living and one supernatural, who are involved in an unusual romantic triangle!By Teddington Theatre Club

Written by Henry James ready by Danny Wain A widow of a famous author commissions her husband’s friend Withermore, to write his biography. She gives the friend free access to all of her husband’s papers and invites him to use his study to write in, but after some strange occurrences, he fears that the dead author might not wish to have his life exp…

Written by Mary E Wilkins and ready by Becky Tarry. This chilling tale follows a family that decides to rent a house already known to be haunted. What could possibly go wrong?!By Teddington Theatre Club

Written by Edgar Allan Poe and read by Shana De Carsignac This is a classic in gothic literature – a tale about a grieving widower tormented by a raven. At midnight, the man hears a tapping on his door - attempting to ignore it, the unidentified source of the unwelcome noise continues to distract him.…

Written by Mary Elizabeth Braddon and read by Lydia Kennard Lovers part and vow to remain faithful, but the romance is shattered by one of them who breaks the promise - and a heart with chilling consequences.By Teddington Theatre Club

Written by Charles Dickens read by Andy Smith A macabre tale of the narrator who meets a railway signalman who is plagued by paranormal occurrences - he tells of an apparition that has been haunting him.By Teddington Theatre Club

We talk to Vicky Horder and Jacqui Grebot about the challenges of curating theatre props on a budget. Learn about their hoarding skills, charity shop scouring and the art of crafting.

This episode we speak to some of the creatives behind Pink Mist by Owen Sheers. We speak to Co- Directors, Nigel Cole and Gita Singham-Willis together with Mike Elgey (Lighting) and Harry Jacobs (Sound) on the unique challenges of putting on this production and how this amazing piece came together.

We ask TTC members; Linda Hansell, Steve Wayman and Lottie Walker that very question! All three have worked on several TTC productions at Hampton Hill Theatre, so they have plenty of insight to share.

Seven ghostly tales to curdle your Egg Nog!By Teddington Theatre Club

Ragnarok! Gotterdammerung! Armageddon outta here! In the final episode of season one, we talk eschatology, chocolate, fake news and the bloody gothness of Old Germanic literature. Sexy zombie apocalypses and millennial doomsday cults make an appearance too, because of course they do. And even though we say 'everyone's gonna die' a lot in this episo…

Written by Elizabeth Gaskell and ready by Dorothy Duffy A seventeen-year-old girl is charged with the care of a young toddler, following the death of the child’s parents. The two are tearfully whisked away to a mysterious mansion where the supernatural reigns with abandon. An eerie short story, with all the ingredients of the perfect gothic tale: a…

Written by M R James and read by Steve Taylor A young orphan, called Stephen arrives at Aswarby Hall, the country estate of his elderly uncle, Mr Abney. His uncle is known to have previously taken in other disadvantaged children, but they never stayed for long. A few months after his arrival, Stephen begins to experience some inexplicable and distu…

Written by E. Nesbit and read by Mia Skytte-Jensen A deliciously creepy story about a nurse who is summoned to a farm to help with an usual case, and finds a couple slowly going mad. The Violet Car comes from the author of The Railway Children, but this is definitely one for grown ups only!

Maenads! Who are they, what do they want, and how do they wear their fox-skins? Kittens! How can they be so cute and so murderous at the same time? Join Alexis and Lottie as they discuss why frenzied Bassarids and Cutie McFloofcat are both the same Gothic trope of violent comeuppance. Via boring werewolves, Nosferatu and beautiful, naughty Clodius,…

Written by Amy Lowell and read by Heather Mathew In this chilling poem, picture a crossroads, a stake and roadside burial. There will be no peace or rest for the living or dead while the stake is there.

Written by Edgar Allan Poe and read by Harry Medawar After committing unprovoked violence, the narrator is tormented by the sound of his victim’s beating heart. What will it do to his conscience and where will it lead him next? Expect insanity, paranoia and psychological contradictions in this classic horror story.…

Written by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and read by Zoe Harvey-Lee A miller's daughter is betrothed to a suitor chosen by her father. The daughter has a bad feeling about this man and when she is finally forced to visit him at home, she learns the terrible truth about her future husband!

Written by William Fryer Harvey and read by Luke Daxon Two men, unknown to each other, whose glimpses of the other's possible future suggest that one of them will be murdered and the other will be the murderer. This ghostly tale has an atmosphere of danger, of an accident waiting to happen – it could leave you with many unanswered questions……

The Interval written Vincent O’Sullivan and read by Cath Messum Mrs Wilton has been making the rounds of psychics trying to contact her deceased husband. It is 1919 in England and like a lot of women, she is newly widowed from the Great War. This is a sad tale of grief and loss and more subtly, about the human cost of war.…

Written by H.H Munro and read by Sian Walters A young man, suffering from a nervous condition, introduces himself at a neighbour’s country house. He is welcomed with a story of family horror that chills his soul.

Written by Edgar Allan Poe and read by Nigel Cole. Animal lovers beware, this is by no means a fluffy tale and comes with a 'Drinkaware' warning! Pluto, the black cat, was the narrator’s best friend and they did everything together – until alcohol addiction puts a wrench in their friendship. Listen in horror as the narrator declines from good to ev…

A Thousand and One Nights by Caroline Ross - read by the author. A Sultan is spellbound by the voice of a young girl and so he takes her as his bride. At his palace she sings for him every night and Princes come from far and wide to hear her nightingale-like voice. At first the girl amuses the Sultan, but as the days pass he demands more and more, …

Written by Edgar Allan Poe and read by Dave Brickwood An unnamed narrator is brought to trial before sinister judges of the Spanish Inquisition. In front of him are seven tall white candles on a table, and, as they burn down, his hopes of survival also diminish. Poe’s classic tale, journeys deep into unbearable horror and mental torture.…

Written Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and read by Lara Parker A miller makes a deal with a stranger to gain great wealth. Poor fool. What he doesn’t realise, is that he’s unwittingly sold his daughter to the Devil.

Teddington Theatre Club is thrilled to be starting on its journey into the wonderful world of podcasting, and what we can't think of a better way to start than with some musings around that very British theatre tradition - the panto! In this episode we take at look at the classic pantomime, Cinderella and the inspiration behind setting it out of co…

Join Alexis and Lottie on a deep-dive into WORLDBUILDING. Why it's menacing to be told to start with a timeline, how Twin Peaks' BOB came to be, why you must never call pulled pok 'flesh-spicing', and why the architect of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao probably didn't start with the toilets. Alexis, unsportingly, refuses to get cross. Games / book…

This week we take a break from literature and talk about the weird stories in our own lives. Join Sheep-Stealer and Big Head as they introduce you to Great Uncle Gilbert, the teenage flying ace and real-life Great Escape artist, and David the contract officer for the Sultan of Oman who brought a wolf to tea. All shot through with poisonous headwear…

Can you really trust anyone? Join Alexis and Lottie as they roundly conclude that you can't. We talk unreliable narrators via toilets, relevance theory, echoic mentions, the four levels of Star Wars canonicity and Lovecraft being surprisingly confident that his monsters were real. Games / books mentioned in this episode, for your gaming / reading p…

Madness, blood and ladies! We talk all things bloody, from Freud to Pliny to the Red Grail to Queen Elizabeth the First to murdering an entire hive of bees. The Madonna / whore complex? Check. Horrible Norse mythology about men being scared of ladies, and gods being made out of spit? Check. Etymology that devolves into single entendre riddles about…

Join Alexis and Lottie for a run-down of forbidden knowledge: the type that's ipso facto dangerous and the type that's dangerous because of what you can do with it. We discover Christopher Marlowe was definitely a spy, nuclear codes are modern occultism and everyone's neighbour Mrs Thrumb writes a very boring diary. We skim past Papist plots, diabo…

From ancient Egypt to modern web comics, döppelgangers haunt us all. Join Alexis and Lottie as they discuss the ins and outs of these look-alikey ghouls, from Scottish fetches to Capgras syndrome via Dostoyevsky, Silent Hill 2, neuropsychology and scary mirrors. All with a sprinkling of gothic literature. Oh! And if you run into a doppelganger in a…