The Amelia Project - Introducing The Ballad of Anne & Mary

Episode Date: August 25, 2022

Today, in between regular episodes, we're playing the first episode of The Ballad of Anne & Mary and introducing it with a brand new Amelia sketch! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Summer's here, and you can now get almost anything you need delivered with Uber Eats. What do we mean by almost? You can't get a well-groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parmesan delivered. Sunshine? No. Some wine? Yes. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. See app for details. Hello, it's Pip, and today we'd like to introduce you to another one of our favourite audio dramas. In fact, today's recommendation has been one of my top discoveries this year. But first, let's check in with what's about Mrs. Edelborg. She has suddenly decided the Volvo isn't good enough for her and wants a BMW instead. When I told her she couldn't have a BMW since Salvatore has already rebuilt the V60,

she threatened to expose us. Blow me down. The scallywag is trying to horn-swaggle us. Hold on to your doubloons. What? By thunder, there's only one thing to do. We give her the black spot. Aye, that'll make that scurvy dog follow the cart, I reckon. Er, you suggest what? We leave her black-spotted.

I have said my piece, now heave ho. Black-spotted? What does that mean? Oh, before ye go, pour me some grog-glass, and do it smartly. I'm planning to get loaded to the gunnels today. Loaded to the... huh? Come here, me beauty. Listen, I won't suffer any landlubbers or village rats this morning Today is a national holiday

I don't think it is a national holiday And you better start speaking normally because you have a client at one o'clock Send that son of a biscuit eater down the gangway Lest the lad speak like a pirate, he might as well scuttle Why are you talking like that? It is International Speak Like a Pirate Day, matey. Oh, Lord. You know, it is also a regular work day,

and you're about to see a PhD student in practical metaphysics. I think a disappearance will be a tad difficult to discuss, speaking like a pirate. Ye think I'll be bum-squabbled? Oh, ye of little faith. Even if I am gabbing like the mighty Anne Bonny, and maybe shaking the cloth in the wind just a little, I'd never struggle to keep a weather eye open. Oh, just stop it! I don't understand a word you're saying, and neither will the client. Blimey wench! Has no one told ye? On this ship we always observe talk like a pirate day.

We do? Aye. Of course, Alvina, it's in memory of past buccaneers whom we've seen walk the plank or dance the gallows dance. So ye better get on board, matey, or ye might find yourself marooned. Okay, I can't take any more of this. You cannot speak like a pirate when you're meeting a client. It's not professional.

Oh, do ye fancy some Salma Gandhi, eh? All we have aboard is hard-tack and loblolly. But down at the Rising Phoenix, I know they've got fine grub for not many cob dollars. That's it. I'm going upstairs. If anyone can put a stop to this nonsense, it's her. You're about to tell it to the parrot, are ye? You ye give me the collywobbles ye do.

I'm going. Shiver me timbers. I must clear the deck. Ah, Amelia, I was just about to come and see you. Our friend here thinks it's appropriate to... Ahoy, me hearties. I feel like I've been kissing the gunner's daughter all morning. We need to splice the main brace, me thinks. Who's down for some cackle fruit and bunny grub before the dog watch?

Oh, not you too! Arr, aye. Speak Like a Pirate Day is actually a real thing. It's on the 19th of September every year. And here's a fun fact. The co-founder of International Speak Like a Pirate Day, a guy named Mark Summers, was basically Julia Morizawa's theatre dad when she was in high school

as he directed the teen theatre programme in the neighbouring town's community theatre. Anyway, Alvina might not appreciate the celebration of International Speak Like a Pirate Day at the Amelia offices, but if you like true tales and wild stories about real-life pirates, you should check out The Ballad of Anne and Mary. Our friends over at Long Cat Media have made an audio-drama musical about two female pirates. It's 1721 and London is abuzz with the news of the notorious pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, currently languishing in Newgate Prison. It's the perfect time for debt-ridden journalist

Nathaniel Mist to exploit the public appetite and write a sensational and hopefully best-selling history of pirates. But as the balladeers and gossip mongers on the streets of London build myths around the bloodthirsty and perverse lady pirates, Mist is forced to reckon with the real Bonnie and Reed. The Ballad of Anne and Mary is an audio adventure in five parts, starring musical sensation Christina Bianco, actress and comedian Suze Kempner, Hamilton star Carl Queensborough, cabaret legend Legato Chocolat, and more. I've listened to The Ballad of Anne and Mary and I got completely enraptured by the portrayal of these two infamous pirates. The music is stunning, the sound design is fabulous. Close your eyes and you'll be taken

into prisons aboard pirate ships and out to sea. We're going to play you the first episode of this series right here, right now, and if you like it, you can continue listening wherever you get your podcasts. So, crack open a bottle of grog, stay the course and enjoy. Long Cat Media presents The Ballad of Anne and Mary Episode 1 Take the Steel ¶¶ Come travelers and friends, gather round And friends gather round

A ballad have I To chill and astound Of ships run aground Of good sailors drowned At the hands of Anne and Mary Man that is born of a woman Have only the shortest of time for to be And nowhere are folks more aware of that fate than the terrible ravenous sea, where the waves they do tower,

the winds they do blow, and krakens and monsters drag men down below. But some men are so wicked, the devil himself has caused them back up from his hell. Yes, some men and some women as well. They say that my hair became red from the blood of the innocent sailors I've slain. They say we were crueler than Avery himself and more vicious than Blackfeet or Vane.

They say it's bad luck to have women on board. And that two-on-one ship is a crime against God. And that crime will bring terrible luck to mankind. They say we're a plague and a curse. Yes, they say lots of things about us. What kind of woman becomes a pirate? Lots of things about us What kind of woman becomes a pirate? How did these angels come to fall? Men will be devils if they desire

But how can a woman be a pirate at all? They inherit Ambani and don't marry Rin Her raven locks stiff with the brine With breasts bursting free of their binding men's shirts What? No, they weren't And bountiful Pussy behind Their tight-brimmed cheeks are hugging voluptuous thighs Oh, stop right there!

With ruby red lips and hellfire in their eyes And they slip a forked tongue in your ear Do you try to resist their unholy demands? Will you join them? Or die by their hands? That's not true, why aren't you listening to a word we're saying? You can flash them to beauties, reveal their true form As a hydra beast, vile to behold

Like it's true, murdery, but they fight back to back Hacking bodies and harvesting souls Young and old, machines defying Massacre all, but who bow to their will They feed off the lives of the saviors that they kill And the last thing you'll see as their cutlasses spill Your insides on the bloody deck is Is, or is she, devils locked in a kiss? I don't know how she remembers all those words. Thank you very much. Thank you. Oh, lovely. That was The Ballad of Anne and Mary.

And I am selling the full text right here, right now. So roll up. Get them while they're on. Who's first? You, madam? Yes, please. I heard they took Beelzebub as a lover. Amongst others.

Disgusting. How much? Tuppence abroad, she could say. Tuppence? Daylight robbery. Includes a woodcut of the ladies in their breeches. Here, go on then. Here, give me one.

I'll take two. Yeah, yeah, give me one too. Nice paper this. Make good bum fodder after reading. I've seen them at the Old Bailey. Really? What were they like? You could smell the brimstone. Oh, didn't you? We'll see them dance before long.

No, no hanging for them. Pleaded their bellies, didn't they? Oh, I love a good hanging. Let them give birth, then string them up, I say. Mm, quite right. And strangle the bait. Thank you. Change for a shilling.

Nathaniel! Last time I saw you, you were in the stocks getting pelted with cabbages. Yes. No, no, no, no, no. You put your money away. Free for you, darling. No, no, no, no, no. You put your money away. Free for you, darling. Business is good, eh? Oh, yeah.

I barely get through the song before I'm mobbed. Did you write this one yourself? Yeah, did the woodcut too. Wonderfully perverse. Give the public what they want. Mist, it's almost one. I told the turnkey we'd be there by noon. Aye, aye, Captain.

Come in. Goodbye, Bess. Ta- in. Goodbye, Bess. Ta-ra! Minor, you go! Something upset you, Captain Barney? Over half a million souls in London and you insist on exchanging pleasantries with every man jack of them.

And did you really pay for that? Ballard. Why not? It's research. That woman hasn't even met them. Listen to this. Anne Boddy and Mary Read. Abominations pumped forth from betwixt the arsecheeks of hell. Good God.

Poetry. I trust our book will be better written. Oh, yes. Respectable enough for a drawing room. Sensational enough to sell 10,000 copies. Sensational? Not sure I like the sound of that. Barn it.

The people want devils. Dirty, sexy devils to offend and titillate good Christians everywhere. I will give them that. Nothing sexy about those two. See this scar? See? Mary did that with a cutlass while Anne laughed. That's pretty sexy.

No, it's not. I'll make it sexy. No, you's not. I'll make it sexy. No, you're a journalist. Stick to the facts. And the fact is, they're awful. How awful? Violent, insane, not at all comely, and they smell like a couple of dead badgers

preserved in cheap rum. Good job you caught them then. It is. Chapter One. The courageous Captain Jonathan Barney and his apprehension of the Hellcats and Bonnie and Mary Reid. Eh? What do you think? Hmm. Well, how about this? Chapter one. The courageous Captain Jonathan Barnett. That's it. That's the whole title. The focus of the story should be on the hero, not the villains.

But Bonnie and Reed are rather famous, and you're... not. That is exactly the problem. It's ridiculous no one knows who I am. Our book shall set that right. Shame we can't set it all right and put a noose around their necks. They'll likely die in prison. What if they're released? The fee would be astronomical. They couldn't afford it. They could earn it. How? How do you think? This visit's costing

me a small fortune. The turnkey takes most of that. True enough. Although... What? What is it? I've heard there's buried treasure. Oh. You don't say. I do say. Someone might retrieve it for them. Pay their bond. Who would they trust with such a task? Oh, I don't know. Charming stranger. A charming stranger? Yes. A charming

stranger. Hang on. Do you mean me? You! Oh, miss! Oh, very funny. I was... Anyway, what need we of treasure? Our book shall be our fortune. And here we are. Newgate Prison.

God, you can smell him from here. You have delicate sensibilities for a pirate, Barney. I am not a pirate. I am a privateer. A pirate by any other name. Hello? Privateers work for the government. Doing the exact same work as pirates. Gatekeepers asleep.

Privateering is a perfectly respectable... I was only joking, Barnet. Hello? Who is it? Good evening. Tis Nathaniel Mist of Mist's Weekly Post and Captain Barnet, the hero who captured the pirate ship Revenge, here to see the pirate hags as arranged.

You know what? I just had a thought. You should go in alone. What? You've come all this way. You've paid for both of us to... But what if they're too scared to talk in my presence? Oh, and we need them to relax, to open up. You coming in or what?

One moment! Bloody hell. I am decided. Go on, go charm the pants off them. I'll meet you later. If you think that's best. Don't believe half the things they say Nathan do you hear their lie there's what nonsense they'll say about me but hang on where we meet in and when midnight at King's coffee house good luck miss you'll need it Not far now Bread A little bread please

Mine are puddles Not far now. Bread. A little bread, please. Ugh. Mine are puddles. Good sirs, please, help. Quiet down. My child is left alone while I am here. No one locks a pirate up and gets away with it. Do you know who I am? I be the fearsome pirate Aunt Bonnie.

Good God. Aunt Bonnie? Nah, that's Barbara. Bloody nuisance. You dare treat Anne Bonny like this? We're moving her to the East Block. What's in the East Block? Thicker walls. I'll catch you gizzards out and feed them to my liver!

Is that them? Aye. Like mermaids luring good men onto the rocks. Oi, Reed! Visitor! I like to give them a warning before going in. In case they're having a shit. Oof, you're a gentleman.

Mistress Reed? Oh. She's unwell. Is she? And I could have shot him. I should have tried harder. Um, madam? He's betrayed us.

Er, I'm here to interview you. Go dog yourself, you weasley hogshagger! I'll leave you two alone. Oh god! Wait, wait, wait! Don't lock me in here with her! Let me out! Let me out! Let me out! Alright, alright. What's wrong with her? Is it the contagion? Hope not.

You hope? You little toe-rag! Get off me! This hellhole has made me sick once in my life before. If it happens again, and you're to blame... It's sickness of the womb! Her baby's killing her! If you're lying...

Go. The other one, Bonnie. Is she well? Aye. Then take me to her. We're already there. She's three cells along. Bonnie!

Visit her! Go in. Presenting Nathaniel Mist. Don't hurt him. Don't hurt him? Greetings, Mistress Bonnie. Thank you for agreeing to see me. Agreeing.

What? Right on my boot. Lovely. I'll just wipe that off. Clear phlegm. No sign of infection. Infection? What infection? Nothing. I heard you singing just now.

Lovely. What was the song? It's called Your Mother's a Public Ledger, open to all parties. Is it really? What? No. Ah, I see. It was a joke. About my dear mother. May she rest in peace. May I sit? Much obliged.

I beg your patience while I assemble this marvellous little device. What fresh perversion is this? What is it? Allow me to explain. It's a portable writing desk for the travelling scribe of my own design. I haven't decided on a name for it yet, but it sits atop my lap like this. So I thought I might call it the Porter Desk. See here, it has these tiny little drawers that hold all manner of implements.

Pencils, a knife to sharpen them with, ceiling wax, paper. Gonna draw the Pirate Queen's kettle drums, are you? Beg your pardon? Gonna empty your nutmegs in private, stirring it scratches on a little piece of paper. Pathetic. Oh, no, no, no, no. I'm not here to draw your...

drums. Listen to me, jingle brains. I'm not as obliging as the turnkey makes out. The last man who came looking for a pirate maul got plenty of pirate and very little maul. You get my meaning? I think you might have the wrong end of the Oh, your foot, Miss Bonnie.

It's right in my... Not legs, that's right. You'll be picking them out of your bread basket if you're not careful. Unless you like that sort of thing. Will you pay extra if I push a little harder? You like a bit of pain, do you? No, no. No pain, please.

I'm just a writer. I'm a journalist. I'm writing a book and I would like you to be in it. That's all. A book? Oh, thank God. What kind of book? A history of pirates. And you want me to be in it?

Yes. And your friend, Mary. A book about me and Reed. I would like to read that. I will send you a copy as soon as it's done. Oh, much obliged. You can read. Better than you, I'll wager.

My father was a lawyer. He trained me to be his clerk. Joke, surely. But you're a girl. I was raised as a boy. No, really? So was Reed, as a matter of fact.

Both of you? That's extraordinary. Quite the coincidence, isn't it? Oh. What kind of woman becomes a pirate? I remember when Reed told me we were scrapping on deck.

You sneaky cow! And Bonnie wins! I can't believe I fell for that. Read. The readers will love this. An unnatural beginning. The seeds of perversion sown from... Would you like an apple?

No, thank you. I must write down my thoughts in a moment. Are you sure? A visitor brought them in exchange for a look at my bare left foot. I told him if he wants to see my right foot, he's to bring hot gingerbread next time. Oh, yes. So, where are my apples?

Eh? Oh, they're right there. Oh, my nutmegs! I wasn't talking about those apples. Other apples? In a manner of speaking. What's wrong with those ones? Jesus, Mary and Joseph, it's a metaphor! Metaphor? Idiot. What's in it for me, it's a metaphor! Metaphor?

Idiot. What's in it for me, that's what I'm saying. You get my story, but what do I get? Why didn't you just say that in the first place? Well? You get... Exposure. What the hell is that?

When the book comes out, everyone will know your name. They already do, numbskull. Oh. So, what do you want, then? Thank you for asking. See this? I wrote this note to read, but I don't trust the turnkey to take it. So you will. Wait, let me add a line or two.

Now then, Miss Bonnie. I'll have another letter ready for next time. Next time? Now hang on, I was only coming today. Good pencil. I'm keeping this. Take it. And next time...

You're not listening. There won't be a next time. I'm not a delivery boy. Do you want the whole story or not? Insulted, insulted, ordered around. Cheek of it. Where are you taking that chair? Beyond the reach of your chain, where you can't get to my nutmegs.

There. The thing is, Miss Bonnie, I don't want your whole story. But you're writing a book. A book about pirate captains and the brave men who captured them. As for you and Mary Read, well... Well, to be perfectly honest, you're the spice. The spice? Yes. So I only need a handful of details.

You know, how many men dead? How many men bedded? Did you ever meet Blackbeard? What was Calico Jack like? Is he the father of your baby? Or both of the babies? That sort of thing. You know, spice. Ah, I see. You're writing some lurid fantasy. I wouldn't go that far. I'm a journalist. A journalist? Why didn't you say? In that case, you should interview a real pirate,

like Calico Jack, or Fennec, or Little Bob. Go talk to him! Well, I can't. They're dead. Oh, yes, I forgot. The only ones left are me and Reed. And I don't feel like talking to you anymore. Get out. Oh, no, no, but, but...

Just make it up. You were gonna do that anyway. Go on. Get out. Miss Bonnie, I have no intention of lying. I am simply responding to what the public want to read. Get the fuck Miss Bonnie, I have no intention of lying. I am simply responding to what the public want to read. Get the fuck out of my cell. Get the fuck out of my cell. Get out. Get out. Before I chuck my piss pot in your face. Get the fuck out of my cell. Get the fuck out of my cell.

All right. Fine. Deal. It's a deal. What is? The letter. I'll take it to her! It's a deal! What is? The letter. I'll take it to her. It's a deal. Nah, I've changed my mind. Get out! Unless... What is it? Tell me, please! You were right. You're the only ones left. I suppose I do need you.

What do you want me to do? Reed doesn't write. So you are to take dictation from her and deliver her letters to me. I suppose I can do that. And you'll do it as long as it takes me to tell the whole story. In whichever way I see fit. takes me to tell the whole story. In whichever way I see fit. Alright. Doesn't look like I have much choice.

It's a deal. Really? Huh. That was easy. You call that easy? Our first duel missed. And last, if you please. But I've got a sword and you're fighting with a spoon. Yes, alright., very good.

Now, where shall I start? Well now, let me see. Where were you born? All righty. County Cork, Ireland, 1698. My mother was a maid in my father's house. I was born on the wrong side of the blankets. And what were your earliest memories?

The warmth of her. And the soft scratch of her calluses as she stroked my face. And she'd sing. Sleep, sleep, crumb of cream Here on your mama's knee Angels are guiding And they were joyous The birds sing a fluting song They sing to thee the whole day long.

The fairies dance a'hill and dale For very love of thee for very love of thee Rest tired eyes awhile Sweet is thy

baby's smile Angels are guarding And they watch over thee Ach, she won't settle. Dream, dream, grandma cream.

I have to go, love. Ah, no. Anne barely gets to see you. Anne, put that knife down. She's fierce. If only she were a boy. I'd train her up to work alongside me. Father and son.

Well now, there's a thought. Here's another. The Americas. There's opportunity to be had there. We could start afresh. Leave the old wife at home. Do you mean that? I do.

A new life together. Wouldn't that be something? Anno, this isn't working. Why are you stopping? This isn't my memory. It's my mother's. It's her story, not mine. Let's skip forward to the real beginning.

When I took the reins for the first time, I was 16. Fine. Please, go ahead. There, there, girl. We'll be gone soon. 1714. My mother had died three years before. I was living with my father and his wife in Charlestown, Carolina.

I was a bastard stain on his reputation. But he couldn't quite bring himself to throw me out. I had my mother's crinkly eyes, he said. stain on his reputation. But he couldn't quite bring himself to throw me out. I had my mother's crinkly eyes, he said. But I had her fire, too. Shove it up your ass! You rotten shoe, you lowborn cuckoo! My stepmother was pure

deranged with respectability, so you can imagine how she felt about me. Ah, now if you want a portrait of cruelty that would make a pirate cringe. And yet, my father would just look the other way. Anne, let's not rock the boat. And for pity's sake, don't upset her. Coward.

Is there any wonder I'd take a horse and escape into town? Hyah! Hyah! Sweet home, oh what a delight I'm out of my prison, I'm going to Charlestown I'm gonna get drunk and I might start a fight I'm gonna bet a man, a particular man I got John in my sights. For a few sweet hours I'll be free from my cow and father's house. It's tonight, but just one night.

I'll be a girl who goes where she damn well goes, taking a midnight ride in her father's clothes. My horse may be saddled, but she's running free, and she only truly gets to feel the rushing of the wind when she's with me. I'm gonna cut and run. For too long

I've been a loaded gun. Itching to fire on the shackles that keep me here. Well, no more enough, I'm done I'm gonna cut and run I don't owe a thing to anyone I'm gonna cut off the anchor

That weighs me down in a flash I'll cut and run Cut and run They would keep me small Run, curtain, run. They were to keep me small, they were to keep me all polite. They were to keep me mild, keeping the bastard child out of sight. My father calls himself an honest man, a respectable man, but they're both twisted up inside. They dress their cruelty up in fancy clothes and politesse, but it is cruelty nonetheless. They keep their greed and selfishness disguised.

They're keeping me weak and sick with this mock gentility, making me wear this mask of respectability. Well, I ain't gonna take it. I'm gonna be free to wear my rage and my pain and my cruelty and my joy for all to see. And this lad that I'm meeting is a pirate. He's the most exciting lad

I've ever seen. Though he says right now he's between ships, he's no less of a pirate to me And he's my guarantee I will never be like them I will be free Free!

Ha! I'm gonna cut and run Live in liberty, I'm bound to run No longer trapped as a daughter in name alone No more false facades undone I'm gonna cut and run Gonna make a husband of that John But until then, I will just have to be the stain On my father and stepmother's upright name

So I'll do and screw and fight till they're rid with shame And then I'm gonna cut and RUN! I'm going to die yourself. Although I warn you, Reed can be awful private. Well, you know, it would be a shame to have to leave her out of the book. Don't do that. So tell me what she told you about her life before you met her. Alright. Reed's last campaign was in Belgium. Look at these men

Their tired faces lit by firelight Bruised and battered from fight after fight But night after night we've sung together My brothers and I This is my home These lads my family And my sanctuary For these ten years I have been free to be me

To a certain degree they've only seen what I would have them see I was so nervous when I joined at 21 A far cry from the soldier I've become I've lived and fought with them and never been unmasked been unmasked Now I am older than I was and not as fast But being Mark I have not been judged

When I have gambled wrestled, cursed and drunk too much I've spoken freely all these years Sharing jokes and stories, hopes and fears These are the pleasures of men But all campaigns must end And once we sail

tomorrow Bound for England when Will I ever feel these pleasures again What would it be like to be free From them that would have me bound In corsets and respectability

This is the life that I have had Through camouflage and sheer audacity But oh, what would it be like What would it be like to live as me I could breathe Mark! Daniel. Wait! I could breathe Mark! Daniel. Wait!

Can I walk with you? Of course. Daniel Leaving Daniel hurts Will I ever see him again We've shared so much And yet so few words But he silently seeks me out

And I too seek him out To eat, to drink, to fight, to sleep And then that night when we were drunk And he pinned me to the ground There was a moment, just one brief moment Mark, can I ask you a question? Something's been on my mind. Something I've noticed.

Oh no, no. Of course, what is it? Um, are you... Forgive me. Of course. What is it? Um, are you... Forgive me. Go on. Are you... I've seen the way you... What?

Look at me. The way you look at me. What way is that? Like you want me. Do you? Want me? Because I want you. Oh no, what happened?

Did he find out? He did. And? Did he want Mark? Or Mary? Either. Both. Oh my darling.

He wanted Reed, Daniel. Meanwhile, in Charlestown... Oh, my darling. Oh, Anne. Oh, John. Oh, Anne, my... Will you stop kissing long enough for me to marry you? I now pronounce you man and wife.

Come here, wife. Do you love me, Anne? I love you, John. Tell me, am I a handsome man? Do I turn you on? Yeah, not so bad. Vanest man in North Carolina. Where shall we go, John?

I heard of a place where pirates gather to... Why don't we go and visit your folks? My folks? But they don't like you. Or me. We just eloped, John. Need I remind you we're totally broke? They might want to give us a wedding present.

Let's not waste our time. I heard tell there's a place where the pirates congregate Outside of the clutches of the law A separate state of buccaneer mates. Always hungry for that next big score. And you're a pirate. So you could find a ship there. Sounds great.

I'm sorry to piss in your rum. But maybe you've noticed we're living on crumbs. What are we waiting for? Let's set sail. Or ask your parents for help. The deed is done. The fowl is red they can't do nothing about it a wee bit of coin for the newlyweds would help the lovebird out a bit this will not work

john how do you know if we don't have a go fine The purchase of ten acres of land. Anne! Hello, Father. Have you heard my happy news? I know I ain't exactly been a perfect daughter, but we wondered if we... You! Oh, dear. Ah, shit. Thought you'd be out.

Get out of here, you bastard child! You rotten shrew, you low-born cuckoo! You are the reason our names defiled! We'll never get rid of the shame of you! Screw you! Did you hear how she spoke to me? Yes, dear. You heard your stepmother!

Don't ever darken our doors again. Shove it up your ass! Anne, we'll try again. When she's cooled down, we'll try again. No, John. I told you it wouldn't work. We don't need their charity. We could just need their charity.

We could just go, John. Anne. We've got all the wherewithals. You're a pirate after all. Onward! Look, you don't understand. To the Republic of Pirates! The situation there is not that simple! NASA! I saw by Lawrence Owen. The series was produced by Long Cat Media. For information on upcoming episodes

and our other series, visit longcatmedia.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as Long Cat Media and also at BallardAnneMary on Twitter.

In this episode, Christina Bianco was Anne Bonny, Suze Kempner was Mary Reid, Carl Queensborough was Nathaniel Mist, John Henry Fall

was Jonathan Barnett, Carol Stennett was Bess the Ballad Singer, Dominic Brewer was John Bonny, Thank you. Fullerton was Anne's stepmother and additional voices. Further additional voices by Hayley Evanett and Ivan Wilkinson. Artwork by Rebecca Pitt. This podcast was supported using funding from Arts Council England, the UEA's Enterprise Scheme and our Ko-fi patrons. If you'd like to help us make future series, then visit our Ko-fi page at www.ko-fi.com forward slash longcatmedia. We really appreciate your support. The Fable and Falling Network, where fiction producers flourish. Fable & Folly Network, where fiction producers flourish. Broadcasting, this is Roger Bergato-Fisher. Communications, something, moon base, wherever.

You guys can sort out the next thing. I need to get the rover checked and loaded. John? On it, boss. Excuse me? If communication still makes a difference at this point in the plot, if we can keep this base or this moon together long enough to be a thing. I changed my direction.

I worked my way down. I took those scraps, the bits they'd forgotten about or thrown away and I built my own place. Still inside, but within the shadows. All my thoughts, my hopes, all of my heart is on a makeshift rocket hurtling

towards us with the most precious of cargo. We'll definitely deserve a celebration. Not like yours. You and your boy down there? I hope he's got a private room waiting. It'll be enough to be close again.

Ah, meu amado. When I have Alex back in my arms, maybe then I can think about resistance. We've kept the corporations at arm's length longer than most. Well, whatever you're building, here or wherever, I'm in. Any way we can help.

It feels like we're approaching the closing stage of this journey. The final stop. But either way, it's been one hell of a story. And either way, it ends with Alex. Moonbase Theta Out. The final season. Broadcasting on your podcast feeds

starting August 14th. For early access, join us at patreon.com slash monkeymanproductions. Moonbase Theta Out.