Jean, Darlene, JacquelineWritten and performed by Marie CrookSet in Cringle ParkEach morning, Jean puts on a different version of herself - a different wig, a different name. One day, a stranger in her local park mistakes her for someone else entirely. And for a little while, Jean plays alongSet in Cringle Park, Jean, Darlene, Jacqueline is a quietly uncanny story about reinvention, care and the longing be someone else.Marie Crook is a writer based in Levenshulme. Her work has appeared in The Real Story, The Caterpillar and Confingo, among others. You Are Here is a podcast from Levenshulme Old Library featuring five original short stories inspired by Levenshulme’s parks and green spaces.Levenshulme Old Library is a community-led arts and culture space in South Manchester. Based in a former Carnegie library, it supports local creativity through workshops, performances and place-based storytelling projects that reflect the neighbourhood’s unique character and voices.The podcast is produced by Levenshulme Old Library, commissioned by The Space, and supported by Arts Council England.Series editor: Richard V. HirstProduction and sound design: OscillateExplore the full project at: levenshulmeoldlibrary.org.uk/you-are-here
--------
16:42
Parakeet - Dipika Mummery
ParakeetWritten and performed by Dipika MummerySet in Highfield Country ParkAs snow falls on Highfield Country Park, Neena walks with her partner Mo. He’s made a decision - one that could take them away from the life they’ve built together. Parakeet is a quiet, powerful story about belonging, uncertainty, and what it means to put down roots.Dipika Mummery has written short stories and flash fiction across genres including sci-fi, fantasy, realist fiction and horror. Her work has been published by Comma Press, Arachne Press, Fox & Windmill, Tasavvur, and Fly on the Wall Press. She has an MA in Creative Writing from The University of Manchester and is currently working on a novel. You Are Here is a podcast from Levenshulme Old Library featuring five original short stories inspired by Levenshulme’s parks and green spaces.Levenshulme Old Library is a community-led arts and culture space in South Manchester. Based in a former Carnegie library, it supports local creativity through workshops, performances and place-based storytelling projects that reflect the neighbourhood’s unique character and voices.The podcast is produced by Levenshulme Old Library, commissioned by The Space, and supported by Arts Council England.Series editor: Richard V. HirstProduction and sound design: OscillateExplore the full project at: levenshulmeoldlibrary.org.uk/you-are-here
--------
17:48
Lignum Vitae - Hette Phillips
Lignum VitaeWritten and performed by Hette PhillipsSet in Chapel Street ParkA park watches the people who pass through: the ones who gather, the ones who grieve, the ones who disappear. With a voice that is slow, patient and rooted, Lignum Vitae unfolds as a quiet observation of life from the perspective of a place that is always changing but always the same.Set in Chapel Street Park, this is a story about memory, connection, and how the land itself carries the lives that move across it.Hette Phillips is a poet, fiction writer and artist based in Levenshulme. Her work has been published by Dostoyevsky Wannabe and For Books Sake.You Are Here is a podcast from Levenshulme Old Library featuring five original short stories inspired by Levenshulme’s parks and green spaces.Levenshulme Old Library is a community-led arts and culture space in South Manchester. Based in a former Carnegie library, it supports local creativity through workshops, performances and place-based storytelling projects that reflect the neighbourhood’s unique character and voices.The podcast is produced by Levenshulme Old Library, commissioned by The Space, and supported by Arts Council England.Series editor: Richard V. HirstProduction and sound design: Oscillate.Explore the full project at: levenshulmeoldlibrary.org.uk/you-are-here
--------
36:18
Tripe - Verity Platt
TripeWritten and performed by Verity PlattSet in Nutsford ValeMarta walks through Nutsford Vale, her thoughts drifting between motherhood, inheritance and the body - the weight of care and the strange rituals that shape our days.Set in a park that was once a clay pit, then a tip, Tripe is a lyrical, layered meditation on usefulness, repetition and the uncanny that quietly lurks on the edges of ordinary life.Verity Platt is a writer from Manchester whose work explores the intersections of place, and memory. Her fiction draws on folklore, domestic life, and the body.You Are Here is a podcast from Levenshulme Old Library featuring five original short stories inspired by Levenshulme’s parks and green spaces.Levenshulme Old Library is a community-led arts and culture space in South Manchester. Based in a former Carnegie library, it supports local creativity through workshops, performances and place-based storytelling projects that reflect the neighbourhood’s unique character and voices.The podcast is produced by Levenshulme Old Library, commissioned by The Space, and supported by Arts Council England.Series editor: Richard V. HirstProduction and sound design: Oscillate.Explore the full project at: levenshulmeoldlibrary.org.uk/you-are-here
--------
17:58
Litter - Valerie O'Riordan
LitterWritten and performed by Valerie O’RiordanSet on the Fallowfield LoopA man follows his ex-wife along a local litter-picking route, trying to make sense of the past, the future and what it means to let go. Set against the backdrop of the Fallowfield Loop, Litter is a story of disconnection, stubbornness and longing - and the way even the most familiar spaces can become sites of confrontation and reckoning.Valerie O’Riordan is a writer and lecturer in Creative Writing at Greater Manchester University. Her short fiction has appeared in Litro, The Lonely Crowd, The Manchester Review, among others.You Are Here is a podcast from Levenshulme Old Library featuring five original short stories inspired by Levenshulme’s parks and green spaces. Levenshulme Old Library is a community-led arts and culture space in South Manchester. Based in a former Carnegie library, it supports local creativity through workshops, performances and place-based storytelling projects that reflect the neighbourhood’s unique character and voices.The podcast is produced by Levenshulme Old Library, commissioned by The Space, and supported by Arts Council England.Series editor: Richard V. HirstProduction and sound design: Oscillate.Explore the full project at: levenshulmeoldlibrary.org.uk/you-are-here
A podcast exploring the hidden stories, voices, and landscapes of Levenshulme’s green spaces.
Each episode takes you into a different park in the area, uncovering layers of memory, imagination, and community.
Expect evocative short stories inspired by place, real voices from the people who shape these spaces every day, and immersive soundscapes created using field recordings.
Whether you know these parks well or are discovering them for the first time, You Are Here invites you to listen in a new way.
Episodes include:
Story – A newly commissioned short story inspired by the park
Portrait of the Park – Local voices
Audio Soundscape – An atmospheric journey through sound
You Are Here is produced by Levenshulme Old Library. The project was commissioned by The Space and made possible by Arts Council England.
UK