Amber McMahon Reads
Abigail Ulman’s 'The Couples Therapist'
Amber McMahon, a star of stage and screen, currently performing in Belvoir’s Orlando, brings to life Abigail Ulman’s ‘The Couples Therapist’. This witty short story follows a husband and wife hilariously attempting to put their therapist’s advice into practice.
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Join us for StorySALOON
StorySALOON Live is your mid-week creative fix. Three short stories by award-winning and emerging writers, narrated by Australia’s most talented actors. We bring you short stories that will make you laugh, keep you hooked, and make you think. If you can’t see it live on stage, listen to the weekly StorySALOON Podcast.
StorySALOON Live
at The Vanguard, Newtown
$35 + Booking fee
OCT 7, 2025
Three bold and resonant short stories — ‘Clatter Tongue’, ‘Golden Hour’ and ‘The Couples Therapist’— by Ren Wyld, Claire Aman and Abigail Ulman.
‘Clatter Tongue’, by Ren Wyld, a writer of Martu descent, is in Declan Fry’s words an ‘inspired’ short story which combines realism with the fantastic: ‘the throat’s inability to give voice is tied up with missing family and histories that won’t stay down.’ Read by Katie Beckett, a celebrated Murri actor and writer whose acclaimed stage and screen work brings both artistry and cultural resonance to this prize-winning short story.
‘Golden Hour’ by Claire Aman. Winner of the 2022 Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize, ‘Golden Hour’ is a deeply moving story about the small loan of money between neighbours and a son that went missing decades ago. Read by Suzi Dougherty, whose career spans leading roles with Australia’s major theatre companies as well as film and television credits including The Kettering Incident and Home and Away.
Abigail Ulman's ‘The Couples Therapist’ is a comedic exploration of a husband and wife's attempt to follow their therapist’s advice. Read by Amber McMahon, star of stage and screen, whose most recent role is in the stage adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, at Belvoir St Theatre.
Hosted by Jane Messer, Founder & Chief Saloonist.
StorySALOON Podcast
Listen to the individual short stories, episode by episode.
Every week we release a new podcast. Our beautifully read short stories make for perfect listening when driving, exercising, or at bedtime.
We record each episode at our live shows and release them weekly.
Tune in to our in-depth monthly conversation series: ‘In the SALOON with…’ – our unique, in-depth, and revealing conversations with actors and authors.
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Vinaya Elijala and Roanna Gonsalves at StorySALOON Live
Celebrating StorySALOON’s Season 2
StorySALOON’s first season celebrated and showcased 9 contemporary Australian short stories, and 15 authors and actors from across Australia.
We were delighted by the support shown by the creative community, including our writers, actors, funders, sponsors, and our fabulous audiences.
Season 2 of StorySALOON has officially begun, and what a way to kick it off with a sold-out September show. We’re excited to carry this energy forward into the months ahead. New shows are coming in October 7 and November 4.
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Vinaya Elijala, Adam Dunn, and Alex Dimitriades
FAQs
StorySALOON tickets are available at the door, but it’s a gamble. We suggest you buy tickets in advance through The Vanguard or Moshtix. Online ticket sales close at 4pm on the show date.
$35 + booking fee.Doors open: 6.00pm
Shows starts: 7.00pm
Short interval midway
Show ends: 8.30pm
You can listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and iHeart. StorySALOON episodes drop weekly in the month following each live show.
Want to buy StorySALOON a book or a drink? We welcome donations of $15 $25, or even $50.
We’re building a new cultural event for Australia via our live show and podcasts.
Your donation* supports StorySALOON by providing work and wages for Australian writers, actors, and crew.
* Donations over $2 are tax deductible via the Australian Cultural Fund.
NOV
Monikka Eliah, ‘Zucchini’, Meanjin, Summer 2021.
Luke Johnson, ‘Ferocious Animals’, Ferocious Animals, Recent Works Press, 2021.
Michelle Hamadache, ‘The Crane Flies’, Overland, Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize 2021 Shortlist.
OCT
K.A. Ren Wyld, ‘Clatter Tongue’, This All Come Back Now: An Anthology of First Nations Speculative Fiction, ed Mykaela Saunders, UQP, 2022.
Claire Aman, ‘Golden Hour’, Overland, Issue 249, Summer 2022.
Abigail Ulman, ‘The Couples Therapist’, The Monthly, Issue Dec 2022 - Jan 2023.
SEPT
Roanna Gonsalves, ‘The Skit’, in The Permanent Resident, UWA Publishing, 2016.
Christos Tsiolkas, ‘Dance Hall Days’, in Into Your Arms: Nick Cave Songs Reimagined, edited by Kirsten Krauth, Fremantle Press, 2023.
Jake Dean, ‘Apocalypse, then', in Griffith Review, 2024.
JUNE
Gillian O’Shaughnessy, ‘In This Tale of a Suburban Tiger, the Part of the Mother is Played by a Bird’, Splonk, 2022; ‘Starfish’ in Jellyfish Review, 2022; ‘1989’ in Aniko Press, 2023.
Margo Lanagan, ‘Singing My Sister Down’, in Singing My Sister Down and other short stories, Allen & Unwin, 2017.
Anne Casey-Hardy, ‘In Disguise, Lying Low’, in Cautionary Tales for Excitable Girls, Simon & Schuster, 2022.
MAY
Oliver Coulter, ‘Aitu’, Going Down Swinging, Nov 2022.
Cate Kennedy, ‘GPS’, in South of the Sun: Australian Fairy Tales for the 21st Century, Australian Fairy Tale Society, 2021.
Paddy O’Reilly, ‘Baggage Claim’, in Overland, 2018.
APRIL
Monique Choy, ‘Tinder Date’ in Soak: UTS Writers' Anthology, Brio Books, 2023.
Nic Low, ‘Octopus’ in Arms Race, Text Publishing, 2014.
Kathryn Gledhill-Tucker, ‘Protocols of Transference’ in This All Come Back Now: An anthology of First Nations speculative fiction, ed Mykaela Saunders, UQP, 2022.
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Vinaya Elijala, Adam Dunn, and Alex Dimitriades
StorySALOON champions Australian short stories
Our mission is simple: to grow audiences for short fiction and bring these stories to life in unforgettable ways.
At StorySALOON live shows, talented actors take centre stage, performing hand-picked short stories with passion and flair. Each show is a one-of-a-kind mix of lively conversation, devilishly good short stories, and remarkable performances.
StorySALOON Podcast is building a lasting archive of these brilliant Australian works, capturing every vibrant reading and conversation so the short stories live on for new audiences anytime, anywhere.
Founded by writer Jane Messer, StorySALOON is where Australia’s finest short stories find their audience — and where stories, laughter, and community meet.
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Donate to StorySALOON
Want to buy StorySALOON a book or a drink? We welcome donations of $15 $25, or even $50.
We’re building a new cultural event for Australia via our live show and podcasts.
Your donation* supports StorySALOON by providing work and wages for Australian writers, actors, and crew.
* Donations over $2 are tax deductible via the Australian Cultural Fund
SEPT 2, 2025
Three sharp and unforgettable stories — ‘The Skit’, ‘Dance Hall Days’ and ‘Apocalypse, then’ — by Roanna Gonsalves, Christos Tsiolkas and Jake Dean.
‘The Skit’, by award-winning Sydney writer Roanna Gonsalves, read by actor Vinaya Elijala, who brings her NIDA, Bollywood dancing and stage experience to the fore in this reading. ‘The Skit’ is a sharp, comedic snapshot of Indian expat and student life in Sydney, where friendships and rivalries are revealed in all their complexity.
‘Dance Hall Days’ by Christos Tsiolkas. Dimitri and Marlene haven’t seen each since the 1980s Melbourne’s party and music scene. Tsiolkas explores the fragile connections that shape who we become. Read by Alex Dimitriades, star of The Heartbreak Kid and Head On and the hit TV series Strife, The Slap and Total Control.
‘Apocalypse, then?’, a comedic satire of a writer’s lust for fame by rising talent, Jake Dean. An Adelaide teacher heads for New York after his short story is accepted by The New Yorker. But then the world ends. Read by Adam Dunn - performer, writer and short film producer whose recent roles include The Rising, Play Dirty, The Fall Guy and Elvis.
Hosted by Jane Messer, Founder & Chief Saloonist.
JUNE 3, 2025
Mood board for this show’s three stories: Laughter, Tears, Awe. ‘In Disguise- Lying Low’, three exquisite flash fictions, and ‘Singing My Sister Down’.
It was hard to choose just one story from Anne Casey-Hardy’s brilliant debut collection, Cautionary Tales for Excitable Girls. ‘In Disguise- Lying Low’ is narrated by 2024 NIDA grad and rising talent, Esha Jessy.
We present two of Gillian O’Shaughnessy’s exquisite flash fictions, ‘In This Tale of a Suburban Tiger, the Part of the Mother is Played by a Bird’ and ‘1989’. Monica Sayers returns to StorySALOON to tell the tales, briefly.
‘Singing My Sister Down’ is amongst Margo Lanagan’s most affecting short stories. This internationally awarded short story is narrated by the extraordinarily talented Paul Capsis, one of Australia’s most versatile theatre, cabaret, film and television performers. Capsis has worked with leading theatre companies in Australia, and internationally in Vienna, Hong Kong, London, Edinburgh and New York.
Hosted by Jane Messer
SOLD OUT
MAY 6, 2025
Three wickedly good stories. ‘Aitu’, ‘GPS’ and ‘Baggage Claim’, performed by Chris Alosio, Jules Billington and Monica Sayers.
‘Aitu’ is a breakout story by emerging NT Samoan/Australian writer Oliver Coulter. Narrated by rising star Chris Alosio, acclaimed for his roles in the Netflix series, Surviving Summer, and feature films Talk to Me, Next Goal Wins and Fighting Season.
With ‘GPS’, short story queen Cate Kennedy shines again. Narrated by Jules Billington, whose film and television work includes Buckley’s Chance starring Bill Nighy, and iconic queer Australian feature films Ellie & Abbie (and Ellie’s Dead Aunt), and All About E, along with TV and theatre roles with Sydney Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare, and La Boite.
‘Baggage Claim’ by Paddy O’Reilly, multi-award winning Melbourne short story writer and novelist. ‘Baggage Claim’ is narrated by proud Chinese Australian Monica Sayers, well known for her roles in TV dramas including The Messenger, Rake, Love My Way, and stage work with Bell Shakespeare, Belvoir and MTC. (Also, she adds, ‘countless commercials.’)
Hosted by Jane Messer
SOLD OUT
We launch with three riveting short stories. ‘Tinder Date’, ‘Octopus’ and ‘Protocols of Transference’, brought live to stage by Zoe Carides, Taofia Pelesasa and Dakotah Love.
‘Tinder Date’, by Sydney fiction and travel writer Monique Choy. Narrated by the immensely talented Zoe Carides, whose TV and film career includes Death in Brunswick, the Netflix TV drama Pieces of Her and thriller Interceptor, Top of The Lake, Rake, Pieces of Her, Brilliant Lies, and Mystery Road.
‘Octopus’, by Nic Low, Melbourne writer of Ngāi Tahu Maori/European heritage, with narration by Western Sydney actor and creative powerhouse, Taofia Pelesasa, whose recent roles include Comedy Central’s SIS, Stan’s C*A*U*G*H*T, and the ABC’s The Messenger.
‘Protocols of Transference’, by Nyungar writer and technologist Kathryn Gledhill-Tucker, and introducing 2024 NIDA grad and proud First Nations artist of the Anēwan mob to read the story, Dakotah Love.
Hosted by Jane Messer
APRIL 1, 2025
Acknowledgement of Country
StorySALOON acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first storytellers of this land. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, as we create, perform and listen on unceded Gadigal land.