The Dublin Story Slam Podcast Review & Listening Party Announcement

The Dublin Story Slam have announced that as of this month they will be part of The Warren, an exciting brand new Podcast Network and home to a diverse line up of podcasts that focus on everything from audio drama to insects, cartoonists to science.

The team behind The Dublin Story Slam, Julien Clancey, Liam Geraghty and Colette Kinsella set up The Warren. Between the trio there is an accumulation of 30 years of award-winning Radio and a desire to bring these skills to the World of Podcasting.

“We are delighted to be working alongside, playwrights, journalists, scientists and comedians to bring you six Podcasts to start off with and on October 30th, we'll be sharing them all onstage at our very first Listening Party.”

REVIEW OF THE DUBLIN STORY SLAM PODCAST

What Irish person doesn’t love a good story? From campfire gatherings to drunken pub tales, the Irish definitely have a monopoly on the essence of true storytelling - period. The Dublin Story Slam taps into this with every night of sharing, listening, laughter and stunned silence.

Storytelling is one of the oldest cultural traditions in Ireland, The Dublin Story Slam have rendered that tradition in shiny 1080p, anchored by the gentle camaraderie and warm banter between hosts Colm O’Regan and Julien Clancy.

The idea of The Dublin Story Slam is a bold one. How does a podcast develop an already transcendent tradition like storytelling? Unlike the live performances the podcast is comprised of, the listener has no sense of gathering with an audience to sit and listen. The podcast format strips the listener of the time, place and venue.

The best stories from the live monthly open mic storytelling night of the same name are collected into podcast form. Surprisingly, they not only translate to the audio-only streaming format, they thrive there. The slick separation of these stories into themed instalments is an inspired choice. In episode 2, ‘Date Night’, there can be found laugh-out-loud and cringeworthy confessions of awkward dates as well as Ross O’ Neil’s ercounting of his grandfather’s shocking “elevator story” admission.

In Episode 7, themed around Ghosts, stories take a turn towards the creepy. Channeling age-old tales of púca’s and bean sí’s through a modern lens of personal catharsis and reckoning with trauma. While the ghosts are eerie, the Christmas special episode is heartwarming, and the latest episode, based around giving and needing help, crystallises harrowing stories of refugees and mental health with empathy and a very Irish sense of coming together.

The common thread is that Dublin and Ireland have been through the ringer and we’re still living with the repercussions of the past. Through sharing our plight we can find connection and a way to process.

The Dublin Story Slam is a must-attend event in its own right but you don’t have to make the trip to experience its wit and wonder. You can listen to these stories in the car, by the fire or in the shower and they’ll fill the room with the grandeur of words. This is the real beauty of the podcast, to make the huddled communal connection of storytelling mobile, placeless and timeless. Making the world a smaller and less frightening place. Listen and be taken away.

THE LISTENING PARTY

The Listening Party takes place in The Sugar Club, Lower Leeson Street in Dublin on the 30th October. The event will be hosted by Gearoid Farrelly who will speak to the producers and hosts behind each show on the creation and production of each podcast. Podcasts included on the night are: The Critter Shed who made their first appearance at this year's Cork Podcast Festival. Hosted by science research associate with Trinity College Dublin Collie Ennis and producer Colette Kinsella, it is a podcast about the weird and wonderful side of nature - about things like spider sex, venom-packing frogs, or mind-controlling parasites.

Meet Your Maker, produced and hosted by Liam Geraghty, is a podcast about the people who make the things we love with episodes about everything from Muppet puppeteers to role play Gardaí! Bello Collective named Meet Your Maker as one of 100 Outstanding Podcasts in 2018 and it appeared on Radio Public's list of "17 podcasts that started in 2017 that I couldn't imagine a world without."

How to Be Sound sees writer Rosemary Mac Cabe talk to all sorts of people in an attempt to learn how to be sounder at life. Science Drops! is a podcast that's big on curiosity. Have you ever wondered why stars twinkle or why we have earwax? Science Drops! answers these and many questions in a quirky and fun-filled 90 seconds or less.

Written and directed by Peter Dunne and produced by Liam Geraghty Petrified is a horror anthology podcast from a darker Ireland. These are the chilling tales of people who heard something. Crime Reads has called Petrified "extremely well written, expertly produced and brilliantly acted" and it was listed by Image.ie as one of the top podcasts to listen to in 2019. Julien Clancy will play clips and talk about all things Slam related on the night. Tickets are €5 with beer for the first 60 ticket holders.

Review by Adam Lawler Originally published in BND Magazine Vol. 1 Issue 1.
Buy your copy HERE