7 episodes

It's 1721, and London is abuzz with news of 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 ghost-write a sensational (and hopefully best-selling) history of pirates. But as the balladeers and gossips on the streets of London build myths around the blood-thirsty, perverse lady pirates, Mist is forced to reckon with the real Bonny & Read... Featuring musical sensation Christina Bianco, actress and comedian Sooz Kempner, Hamilton star Karl Queensborough, drag legend Le Gateau Chocolat, and more.
BBC Audio Drama Awards 'Best Podcast' and British Podcast Awards 'Best Fiction' Nominee 2022.

The Ballad Of Anne & Mary Long Cat Media

    • Fiction
    • 4.9 • 76 Ratings

It's 1721, and London is abuzz with news of 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 ghost-write a sensational (and hopefully best-selling) history of pirates. But as the balladeers and gossips on the streets of London build myths around the blood-thirsty, perverse lady pirates, Mist is forced to reckon with the real Bonny & Read... Featuring musical sensation Christina Bianco, actress and comedian Sooz Kempner, Hamilton star Karl Queensborough, drag legend Le Gateau Chocolat, and more.
BBC Audio Drama Awards 'Best Podcast' and British Podcast Awards 'Best Fiction' Nominee 2022.

    1. Take The Steel

    1. Take The Steel

    Researching for his book on piratical history, cash-strapped journalist Nathaniel Mist arrives at Newgate Prison to interview the two notorious survivors of the captured ship Revenge. He finds Mary Read delirious with fever, and Anne Bonny in no mood for smalltalk. What will he have to bargain in exchange for their stories? Featuring Christina Bianco as Anne Bonny, Sooz Kempner as Mary Read, Karl Queensborough as Nathaniel Mist, John Henry Falle as Jonathan Barnet, Carole Stennett as Bess the Ballad Singer, Dominic Brewer as John Bonny and the Gatekeeper, James Ducker as Turnkey Scratby, Laurence Owen as Daniel, William Cormac and additional voices, Lindsay Sharman as Barbara and additional voices, Colette Boushell as Anne’s Mother, Helen Fullerton as Mrs Cormac and additional voices. Further additional voices by Hayley Evenett and Ivan Wilkinson. Written by Lindsay Sharman. Directed by Lindsay Sharman and Laurence Owen. Music, Sound Design and Editing by Laurence Owen. Artwork by Rebecca Pitt. Sensitivity Reading by Ray Stoeve. Produced by Long Cat Media. Episode 2 is released on May 6th. For transcripts and additional info about this podcast and our other productions, visit http://www.longcatmedia.com/ (www.longcatmedia.com) You can support Laurence and Lindsay by buying them a coffee! Donate a one-off or monthly gift at http://www.ko-fi.com/longcatmedia (www.ko-fi.com/longcatmedia), and get exclusive bonus and behind the scenes content. Follow us @LongCatMedia on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and also @BalladAnneMary on Twitter. This podcast was supported by funding from Arts Council England, the UEA Enterprise Scheme, and our Ko-fi patrons. 
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    • 43 min
    2. True Edge

    2. True Edge

    Previously: Journalist Nathaniel Mist arrives at Newgate Prison to interview Anne Bonny and Mary Read for the book he is co-writing with Jonathan Barnet, the privateer who captured the pirates' ship Revenge. Unexpectedly, Barnet decides not to visit the pirates, and the two agree to meet at King's Coffee House later that night. Mist discovers that Read is ill with a fever, so he turns his attention to Bonny. After much clashing, Bonny declares that she will only tell her story if Mist passes letters between her and Read. He reluctantly agrees. She begins with her early life - growing up a bastard child in a cruel house, and running away at an early age with her new husband John Bonny to the pirate stronghold Nassau. She also tells Mist of Read's time in the British army, where she went by 'Mark Read', and her ensuing love for fellow soldier, Daniel. In this episode: Their deal now struck, Anne Bonny tells Nathaniel Mist of her arrival in Nassau, where she leaves her double-crossing husband and joins Jack Rackham's crew. When raiding an English passenger ship, they take a new recruit: an enigmatic soldier who calls himself 'Mark Read'. Meanwhile, Mist finds himself trapped in another deal with Jonathan Barnet, who asks him to probe the pirates for details about Rackham's buried treasure. Featuring Christina Bianco as Anne Bonny, Sooz Kempner as Mary Read, Karl Queensborough as Nathaniel Mist, Le Gateau Chocolat as Capt Jack Rackham, John Henry Falle as Jonathan Barnet, Dominic Brewer as John Bonny and additional voices, Laurence Owen as Captain Graham, the Old Man, Wilkins, Daniel and additional voices, Madame Magenta as Moll King, Hayley Evenett as Bob, Helen Fullerton as the Landlady, and Ivan Wilkinson as Thomas and additional voices. Further additional voices by Lindsay Sharman. Produced by Long Cat Media. Episode 3 is released on May 13th. For transcripts and additional info about this podcast and our other productions, visit http://www.longcatmedia.com/ (www.longcatmedia.com) You can support Laurence and Lindsay by buying them a coffee! Donate a one-off or monthly gift at http://www.ko-fi.com/longcatmedia (www.ko-fi.com/longcatmedia), and get exclusive bonus and behind the scenes content. Follow us @LongCatMedia on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and also @BalladAnneMary on Twitter. This podcast was supported by funding from Arts Council England, the UEA Enterprise Scheme, and our Ko-fi patrons. 
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    • 37 min
    3. Boar's Thrust

    3. Boar's Thrust

    Previously: Anne’s story continues with her arrival at Nassau, and her discovery that her new husband John Bonny is a government informant. She promptly leaves him, and enlists with Captain “Calico” Jack Rackham, who, she is amazed to discover, allows women in his crew. Meanwhile, Nathaniel Mist’s deal with pirate hunter Jonathan Barnet grows murkier, as Barnet insists Mist press the pirates into revealing the whereabouts of their buried treasure. Anne then tells Mist of how they captured an English ship, aboard which the soldier “Mark” Read was a passenger. Read outs the ship’s captain as a cruel tyrant, and asks to join the crew of the Revenge, along with young cabin boy Bob. But Mist is most surprised to learn that among Rackham's crew was none other than one Jonathan Barnet... In this episode: on the Revenge, the frosty-but-curious relationship between Anne & Read comes to a head as they battle it out in a fiery sparring match, Mist begins to reap the consequences of printing seditious letters in his newspaper, and Barnet incites a mutiny on the Revenge... Featuring Christina Bianco as Anne Bonny, Sooz Kempner as Mary Read, Karl Queensborough as Nathaniel Mist, Le Gateau Chocolat as Capt Jack Rackham, John Henry Falle as Jonathan Barnet, Carole Stennett as Bess the Ballad Singer, Laurence Owen as Dobbin, Turnkey Peters and additional voices, Hayley Evenett as Bob and Wren, James Ducker as Turnkey Scratby, Dominic Brewer as Fenwick, Ivan Wilkinson as Thomas and additional voices, and Boomer as the ship's cat, Captain Crackles. Further additional voices by Lindsay Sharman. Produced by Long Cat Media. Episode 4 is released on May 20th. For transcripts and additional info about this podcast and our other productions, visit http://www.longcatmedia.com/ (www.longcatmedia.com) You can support Laurence and Lindsay by buying them a coffee! Donate a one-off or monthly gift at http://www.ko-fi.com/longcatmedia (www.ko-fi.com/longcatmedia), and get exclusive bonus and behind the scenes content. Follow us @LongCatMedia on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and also @BalladAnneMary on Twitter. This podcast was supported by funding from Arts Council England, the UEA Enterprise Scheme, and our Ko-fi patrons. 
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    • 38 min
    4. Broken Time

    4. Broken Time

    Previously: On board the Revenge, the frosty-but-curious relationship between Bonny and Read comes to a head, as they clear the air with a heated sparring match. Read decides to reveal that she was born Mary, not Mark. Meanwhile, some weeks have passed, and Nathaniel Mist is on good terms with the pirates. Read, who has rallied from fever, chastises Mist for endangering himself with his seditious newspaper, Mist’s Weekly Post, which he is using to publish inflammatory letters under the name Captain Charles Johnson. Suddenly, Turnkey Scratby, furious that Anne has stabbed a ‘punter’ with one of Mist’s pencils, demands that he leave Newgate. Mist refuses, and the Turnkeys knock him unconscious. In his dream, we flashback to the Revenge, where Barnet attempts to invoke a mutiny, but is beaten in a duel by Read and forced to flee the ship. In this episode: Bob comes to Mist in a dream, and shows him the capture of the Revenge, Barnet reveals his true colours, Mist finds help in an unlikely ally, and Anne hatches a plan... Featuring Christina Bianco as Anne Bonny, Sooz Kempner as Mary Read, Karl Queensborough as Nathaniel Mist, John Henry Falle as Jonathan Barnet, Carole Stennett as Bess the Ballad Singer, Laurence Owen as Dobbin, Turnkey Peters and additional voices, Hayley Evenett as Bob and Wren, James Ducker as Turnkey Scratby, Lindsay Sharman as Gin-Soaked Jenny and additional voices, Helen Fullerton as the Landlady, and Ivan Wilkinson as Turnkey Gregory. Further additional voices by Dominic Brewer. Produced by Long Cat Media. Episode 4 is released on May 27th. For transcripts and additional info about this podcast and our other productions, visit http://www.longcatmedia.com/ (www.longcatmedia.com) You can support Laurence and Lindsay by buying them a coffee! Donate a one-off or monthly gift at http://www.ko-fi.com/longcatmedia (www.ko-fi.com/longcatmedia), and get exclusive bonus and behind the scenes content. Follow us @LongCatMedia on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and also @BalladAnneMary on Twitter. This podcast was supported by funding from Arts Council England, the UEA Enterprise Scheme, and our Ko-fi patrons. 
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 32 min
    5. Redoublement

    5. Redoublement

    Previously: Bob appears to Mist in a dream, and shows him the capture of The Revenge by pirate-turned-privateer Jonathan Barnet. Anne and Read fight to the last, Bob is shot in battle, and dies in Mist’s arms. Mist then awakes, incarcerated in Barnet’s house, where a raging Barnet tells him that he is planning to torture Anne and Read for the location of Rackham’s treasure - but, Scratby insists, only after 4 o’clock tomorrow, as the pirates are scheduled to be visited by a high-paying baroness. Barnet then makes Mist a fugitive by exposing treasonous documents collected from his lodgings. Mist is then rescued from captivity by Bess, who helps him escape through Barnet’s window, and hides him at her gaff. Meanwhile, Anne hoodwinks a well-meaning turnkey into delivering a coded letter to Mist that outlines her plan to escape Newgate, with Read at her side... In this episode: It’s prison break time, you slubberdegullions. Featuring Christina Bianco as Anne Bonny, Sooz Kempner as Mary Read, Karl Queensborough as Nathaniel Mist, John Henry Falle as Jonathan Barnet, Carole Stennett as Bess the Ballad Singer, Laurence Owen as Pippin, the Musician, the MP, Turnkey Peters and additional voices, Hayley Evenett as Bob and Henrietta, James Ducker as Turnkey Scratby, Lindsay Sharman as the Baroness, the Midwife and additional voices, and Ivan Wilkinson as Turnkey Gregory. Further additional voices by Dominic Brewer and Helen Fullerton. Produced by Long Cat Media. Artwork by Rebecca Pitt. Sensitivity Reading by Ray Stoeve. Episode 4 is released on May 27th. For transcripts and additional info about this podcast and our other productions, visit http://www.longcatmedia.com/ (www.longcatmedia.com) - You can buy The Ballad of Anne & Mary Songbook Programme here! You can support Laurence and Lindsay by buying them a coffee! Donate a one-off or monthly gift at http://www.ko-fi.com/longcatmedia (www.ko-fi.com/longcatmedia), and get exclusive bonus and behind the scenes content. You can also buy The Ballad of Anne & Mary Songbook Programme here as well! Follow us @LongCatMedia on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and also @BalladAnneMary on Twitter. This podcast was supported by funding from Arts Council England, the UEA Enterprise Scheme, and our Ko-fi patrons. 
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 44 min
    The Ballad Of Anne & Mary - Trailer

    The Ballad Of Anne & Mary - Trailer

    It's 1721, and London is abuzz with news of 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 ghost-write a sensational (and hopefully best-selling) history of pirates. But as the balladeers and gossips on the streets of London build myths around the blood-thirsty, perverse lady pirates, Mist is forced to reckon with the real Bonny & Read...
    The Ballad of Anne & Mary is an audio-adventure in five parts, starring musical sensation Christina Bianco, comedian and singer Sooz Kempner, Hamilton star Karl Queensborough, cabaret legend Le Gateau Chocolat, and more.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    • 1 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
76 Ratings

76 Ratings

alexaswell ,

Absolutely loved it!

I learned of these two pirates about a week before another podcast plugged this one, and I am so glad they did. The writers and cast hit this one out of the park, and yes I did go buy the album directly. Will definitely be listening to their other productions. 👍🏻👍🏻

1000 Music Solutions ,

Lady Pirates!

I love the ending! Killer songs.

Kazmierski ,

Great story

I’m not a fan of musicals, so I keep skipping through the singing parts. Otherwise, good story and acting. I enjoy all of long cat media podcasts.

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