Summary
Josie Long presents short documentaries and adventures in sound about what happens after darkness falls. From Mark Thomas's childhood nocturnal journeys to a late-night story told in the glow of a turf fire.
The Little Nuneen Featuring Gerald O'Brien Produced by Regan Hutchins
Escape Featuring Mark Thomas Produced by Sarah Cuddon
The Poem Explains Nothing Featuring Peter Beverley Produced by Peilin Li
Production team: Andrea Rangecroft and Alia Cassam Series Producer: Eleanor McDowall
A Falling Tree production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in June 2019.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:05.0 | Hello, welcome to Shortcuts. I'm Jacey Long, and I'm recording this at home, on my own, at night. |
| 0:13.0 | So anything could happen, but nothing will probably happen. |
| 0:19.0 | There is a quest for mystery. nothing will probably happen. |
| 0:24.6 | There is a quest for mystery, |
| 0:30.6 | which will not be satisfied in too bright a light condition. |
| 0:33.6 | This is shortcuts. |
| 0:40.5 | The thing about nighttime is that it's a bit special. |
| 0:44.6 | There are less people around and less people to see you do things, |
| 0:48.7 | so that means more things happen, or things happen of greater profundity. |
| 0:57.0 | Brief encounters, true stories, radio adventures and found sound. For some reason, we just got into sitting down and talking in the bedroom that I thought, |
| 1:04.0 | when you're asleep, you're dead. |
| 1:07.0 | Obvious. |
| 1:09.0 | I suppose death was just sleep to me and it wasn't that frightening, maybe at that age. |
| 1:15.6 | Today, nocturn. |
| 1:19.6 | ... It's 11.15pm and I'm sat on the sofa in my living room, which is also my kitchen, because I live in London. |
| 1:41.1 | I am recording this on my own. I feel like I've been left off the hook. I can do anything |
| 1:47.4 | I like, but at the same time, I'm not in charge of the editing. Out the back of the kitchen window, |
| 1:57.8 | it's dark. The sound I can hear is the faint hum of the fridge |
| 2:02.6 | and the occasional drip from the tap. |
| 2:06.0 | But other than that, I'm in a very calm, quiet little space. |
| 2:10.8 | I've got a lamp on. |
... |
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