‘The Quarantine Chronicles’ transforms pandemic-set plays into podcasts

A new project is bringing the drama of COVID-19 to your earbuds through a podcast series of pandemic-inspired plays.

CBC Podcasts and Expect Theatre launched “The Quaratine Chronicles” on Wednesday as part of the PlayME series of audio-only theatrical adaptations.

The podcast features seven newly commissioned short plays from acclaimed playwrights including Hiro Kanagawa, Erin Shields, Jordan Tannahill, Rosamund Small and Leah-Simone Bowen.

The stories dramatize tragicomic times we’re living in through a range of genres, including a show about supernatural sourdough starter and a thriller about a child uprising against home schooling.

The plays were recorded remotely by actors during lockdown, and are meant to translate to the stage when theatres reopen.

Episodes will be released each Wednesday on CBC Listen and other podcast platforms.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2020.