THE NEOLITHIC is being brought to back to life thanks to a Stratford podcast partnership.
Writer Martin Liddament and youth theatre actor Pheobe Lawrence have teamed up for a new sci-fi drama podcast called The Sky Machine.
The podcast, penned by Martin during the pandemic, tells the story of a young Neolithic girl and is narrated by 18-year-old Phoebe – a member of Stratford Youth Theatre.
The podcast runs over ten episodes and follows Gilly, a weather-watcher for her tribe, who must predict the conditions her people will encounter as they travel to the far north. Their destination is Orkney and a great prehistoric temple and stone circle.
Along the way, Gilly faces many challenges, not least the emotions that tie her to Yarrow, her best friend and priestess of the tribe.
Yarrow is faithful to the old gods, but the world is changing, and new gods have become active in it. They seem to be taking an unusual interest in Gilly, who finds herself at the centre of a struggle between powers she doesn’t fully understand.
Gilly’s journey is a sacred one, but complications arise almost immediately. Her brother is not helping with Daisy, their little sister, and the representatives of the new gods are setting Gilly puzzling tasks. The answers lie at the end of the journey, but Gilly will be a different person by the time she gets there.
Martin moved to Stratford in 2022. He began podcasting in 2020, writing the first season of the podcast during lockdown.
Stratford Youth Theatre encourages young people in the Stratford area to strive for high standards in the arts of drama, music, movement and technical theatre skills.
Martin said: “The Youth Theatre were extremely helpful in finding potential actors for the part of Gilly and assisting with the auditioning. Phoebe had never narrated a podcast before, but she read the script beautifully and she has made Gilly a convincing and lively character. It has been an absolute pleasure working with her.”
The Sky Machine can be listened to on skymachine.podbean.com or on any of the major podcast platforms.
