sass: Hello and thank you for joining us for The Scene podcast. We know that there are a 1,000,000,000 other things you could be doing right now, so we really appreciate you taking 15 minutes to listen to this little pod play. Season 1 of The Scene Podcast was produced during lockdown. So we've reloaded them all to include this little disclaimer at the top, which is just to say that the actors were, of course, trapped inside their houses using a range of audio recording equipment to record their roles, which we then stitched together, we thought, seamlessly. But upon review, you can see a few seams and inconsistencies in the sound levels.
So we've been able to improve that as we've gone on and made more and more of these little guys. And we wouldn't change these first ten for the world because we're really proud to be able to track the progress we've made. But we just thought we should give this a mention. So first pop play we ever made was called Captain by Kevin Jones. And here's the blurb.
The captain of a huge shipping vessel is being investigated for professional negligence, which led to a £1,000,000,000 cargo liner ending up at the bottom of the sea. What could he have been so distracted by? This is Captain by Kevin Jones.
SASS: So tell us, captain, tell us about the events of September 16, 2017 that led to the damage of the cargo ship 2zed32 7 Pamela, the vessel that you were in fact in charge of on her maiden voyage.
CAPTAIN: Well, as you know, there was no actual cargo on the ship. It was only supposed to be a dry run. Well, shortly after 1400 hours, we collided with the resulting in an enormous gash along the ship's hull. Water began flooding in, and so, of course, I ordered the mayday signal. And the local Anglesey coast guard came and rescued us.
SASS: And the ship?
CAPTAIN: You mean Pam?
SASS: Yes.
CAPTAIN: Well, she she sank.
SASS: Something is confusing me. These rocks, how did you not detect them? The 2 zed 327 was fitted with the latest infrared and GPS radar. Satellites monitored your every position.
CAPTAIN: It was switched off.
SASS: What?
CAPTAIN: For part of the equipment testing.
SASS: Is that standard procedure?
CAPTAIN: No. No. It's something I've added. Well, it's a more modern approach. I find it's good sometimes to shut all the electronics down and feel the weight of the ship in the ocean.
Like it's a living thing, you can feel it breathe up and down, up and down, up and down.
SASS: But who was monitoring for potential danger at this time?
CAPTAIN: Up and down.
SASS: Captain. Captain.
CAPTAIN: I kept to look out. You? Yes. And then suddenly, the weather just turned. Out of nowhere, it was a massive full on storm.
Waves were kicking up 50 feet high. It was incredible.
SASS: Yes. I read that in your original report. Very colorful.
CAPTAIN: Well, it was all very unfortunate. But if that's it, I I I better be
SASS: Where are you going?
CAPTAIN: Are we not done?
SASS: Not yet. We retrieved your original captain's log from the wreckage. Your cabin remained sealed in. It's watertight.
CAPTAIN: Well, that's lucky.
SASS: On examining the log, we discovered that some pages had been torn out.
CAPTAIN: Oh, I'd probably written some notes. It was nothing,
SASS: And we found the missing pages in your bin, ripped up into tiny pieces. A forensics team has been slowly sticking them back together.
CAPTAIN: Well, I don't think there's any value in,
SASS: I feel sunk through to my soul. My body pulled apart.
CAPTAIN: Ah, see, that that's my handwriting for you. It's bloody illegible. It probably means something to
SASS: My lips tremble. The salt water stings like like the bitter memory of yesterday's promise for a better tomorrow.
CAPTAIN: Look. Maybe I should type it up properly for you.
SASS: And we found something else tucked away in the pages of the log. It appears to be an application form for open circle, a regional poetry writing competition.
CAPTAIN: Oh.
SASS: We also have testimonies from several crew members who state that in the moments leading up to the accident as the weather changed, your response was not as would be expected from a captain with your authority. Rather than give orders to put the radar back online or steer the ship away from the imminent danger, you became remote as if hypnotized by the rising waves. One crew member stated that you seemed awe inspired and tearful, as if trying to reach for a word that was slightly out of reach.
CAPTAIN: Well, I was probably just,
SASS: Or daydreaming?
CAPTAIN: No. I wouldn't say I was
SASS: When challenged by other crew members, you answered back, you don't know, you bunch of squares. She don't know what she knows. She's coming. She's coming for all of us.
CAPTAIN: I was referring to the waves.
SASS: As she?
CAPTAIN: Well, it was all quite biblical, I suppose.
SASS: Yes. Overwhelming. Yes. Inspiring. Captain suddenly burst with energy and began screaming, get me a pencil.
I need a pencil. Even as the control room filled with water. You were thinking about your poems, weren't you?
CAPTAIN: Of course not.
SASS: The coastguard stated that you refused to get into the helicopter until the pilot gave you his pen. You put the whole crew at risk.
CAPTAIN: I I was worried that that I did
SASS: Forget the words.
CAPTAIN: No. That I did
SASS: Because the competition line was the next day, wasn't it?
CAPTAIN: Yeah. But that's not why I You
SASS: really wanted to win this, didn't you? Didn't you? Look. I've just
CAPTAIN: got a What?
SASS: In charge of a brand new 3,000,000,000 pound ship. How much more stimulation do you need?
CAPTAIN: Look. Pam is a lovely ship. Well, she was. But at the end of the day, she's your well, she's the company ship. It's nice to have something of my own going on as well.
SASS: Like a pet project? Kinda. Gardening's my hobby. I have an allotment.
CAPTAIN: Whatever floats your boat. That's not the best metaphor. Sorry.
SASS: And what about chief engineer Duncan? He broke his leg in the collision. He'll likely be off for months. He's got a family to feed, you know?
CAPTAIN: Look. And I I feel bad about that. Alright? I do I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. I just got a bit carried away.
Bit of a cock up, really.
SASS: Yes. A bit.
CAPTAIN: Look. I'm sorry. Look. I'm really sorry.
SASS: Taking everything into account, we're stripping you of your duties and ranking with immediate effect. You'll never work in the naval or shipping industries ever again. Years of training and promotion just down the drain. We don't need wasters like you. Hey.
CAPTAIN: I am no waster.
SASS: Get out of here.
CAPTAIN: There is just one more,
SASS: Oh, what?
CAPTAIN: Open Circle, the poetry competition. Well, I won. So? I got a trophy with my name on it, and it gave me a warm glow inside.
SASS: A warm glow? We'll sue you for criminal neglect.
CAPTAIN: I am standing on the deck looking out to sea. She rumbles. She's awoken. And I know she's come for me.
SASS: Is that supposed to impress
CAPTAIN: I am in the lioness roar, in the vortex turning. I am bending. I am breaking. I am shaking. I am bursting.
SASS: We'll take you for every penny you've got.
CAPTAIN: I am at the gates of Hades. Final voyage of goodbyes. Do not pity. Do not question. Shed no tear.
For when I die
SASS: We will ruin you. I will personally see to it that you never
CAPTAIN: And in my final moments, dragged down into the sea, even though I am drowning, I know that I'm that I'm I'm
SASS: You can't remember, can you?
CAPTAIN: No. No. It's just just a a line tweak. Thanks. And in my final moments dragged down into the sea, it is you, not I, who is drowning.
Because you're stuck here, but I'm set free.
SASS: There you go. Podplay number 1. Done. Captain by Kevin Jones starred Duncan Watkinson as the captain and me, Sassy Clyde, as the investigator. Sound design was done by the team at Janno Media.
Our theme tune is by Emma McGrath. We're currently reading scripts for season 4 of The Scene podcast. So if you are a writer and you've got something like this up your sleeve, then send it into us, which you can do via the website. We would love to read it, and we'll see you next time.