Dark Dunedin

Prospect Park Productions NZ is proud to present Dark Dunedin: Heaven Looks On, a three-part thriller podcast, with a Gothic Dunedin as its beating heart.

As you accompany the protagonist on her journey, you’ll discover – or re-discover – nostalgic, historic, and supernatural features of and in the city; the whoosh of Lamson pipes at Penroses Department Store, twinkling stars in the St James theatre, and Kēhua, sprites, and demons dancing under the moonlight in the Town Belt.

When a young woman’s body is discovered in the Dunedin Town Belt, Louise Hepburn finds herself haunted by both the case and her past. A single woman of middle age, she likes to believe that she is an invisible woman in the Edinburgh of the south.

Identified as a potential witness, Louise must now unlock the mystery, following different paths of light that pass through the prism of Ōtepoti, the place of the steep points at the bottom of the world.

Produced entirely in Dunedin with a star cast and original music, we invite you to join us for the Dunedin Fringe Festival launch event and/or tune in for the premiere, which will be aired exclusively for Otago residents before the podcast is made available for download worldwide.

All three episodes of the podcast will then be available for download from 9pm 12 March, allowing you to take the mystery with you whenever, wherever you go. You could even take it to the next level and listen while you explore the sites in the story...

Cast: Julie Edwards, Dougal Stevenson, Phil Vaughan, Marama Grant, Robert Shand, Terry MacTavish, Matt Wilson, Brian Kilkelly, Margo Latton, Dimitri Latton, Cheryl Amos, Mark Neilson, Phoebe Smith, Lani Swann, Simon Anderson.

Prospect Park Productions is writer Emily Duncan and producer H-J Kilkelly, and was formed in 2016. Their first production Hold Me (dir: Tabitha Arthur) opened at BATS theatre to sell-out houses and Emily was nominated for Best New NZ Playwright at the Wellington Theatre Awards for the script.

Louise’s escape plan takes a very wrong turn and nothing short of a miracle will save her now.

Writer and Director: Emily Duncan

Producer: H-J Kilkelly

Technician: Dominic Angelo-Laloli

Original Music: Mārama Grant

Cast:

Louise Hepburn: Julie Edwards

Regan: Kelly Hocking

Terry MacTavish as Fenella

Brian Kilkelly as Anthony

Marion: Jessica Latton

Nancy: Allison Horsley

Broadcast on OAR FM Dunedin oar.org.nz

New hope and a ticket to escape arrives in the form of someone from Louise’s past.

Writer and Director: Emily Duncan

Producer: H-J Kilkelly

Technician: Dominic Angelo-Laloli

Original Music: Mārama Grant

Cast:

Louise Hepburn: Julie Edwards

Sargent Thompson: Mark Neilson

Marion: Jessica Latton

Nancy: Allison Horsley

Regan: Kelly Hocking

Broadcast on OAR FM Dunedin oar.org.nz

Louise wakes up in hospital, lucky to be alive but unsure who she can trust.

Writer and Director: Emily Duncan

Producer: H-J Kilkelly

Technician: Dominic Angelo-Laloli

Original Music: Mārama Grant

Cast:

Louise Hepburn: Julie Edwards

Physio: Cheryl Amos

Fenella: Terry MacTavish'

Broadcast on OAR FM Dunedin oar.org.nz

Louise’s opportunity to address past wrongs results in devastating consequences.

Writer and Director: Emily Duncan

Producer: H-J Kilkelly

Technician: Dominic Angelo-Laloli

Original Music: Mārama Grant

Cast

Louise Hepburn: Julie Edwards

Simeon: Dmitri Latton

Simeon’s Dad: Rhys Latton

Art Gallery Owner: Harriet Moir

Sarah: Mārama Grant

Broadcast on OAR FM Dunedin oar.org.nz

Louise takes the driver’s seat in her quest for independence, facing some unexpected detours along the way.

Writer and Director: Emily Duncan

Producer: H-J Kilkelly

Technician: Dominic Angelo-Laloli

Original Music: Mārama Grant

Cast

Louise Hepburn: Julie Edwards

Fenella: Terry MacTavish

Real Estate Agent: Kate Schrader

Sarah: Mārama Grant

Lawyer: Peter Hayden

Broadcast on OAR FM Dunedin oar.org.nz

After a period of living incognito, Louise makes her first tentative steps back out into the city.

Writer and Director: Emily Duncan

Producer: H-J Kilkelly

Technician: Dominic Angelo-Laloli

Original Music: Mārama Grant

Cast

Louise Hepburn: Julie Edwards

Supermarket Manager: Beth Waite

Sargent Thompson: Mark Neilson

Fenella: Terry MacTavish

Art Gallery Owner: Harriet Moir

Regan: Kelly Hocking

Broadcast on OAR FM Dunedin oar.org.nz

Louise Hepburn takes matters into her own hands when disturbing clues about the case come to light.

Writer and Director: Emily Duncan

Producer: H-J Kilkelly

Technician: Dominic Angelo-Laloli

Original Music: Mārama Grant

Cast

Louise Hepburn: Julie Edwards

Matthew: Robert Shand

Great Aunt Fenella: Terry MacTavish

Sarah: Mārama Grant

Sargent Thompson: Mark Neilson

Broadcast on Otago Access Radio oar.org.nz

The case takes a turn when Louise Hepburn is identified as a potential witness. Is she being honest with us or even herself?

Writer and Director: Emily Duncan

Producer: H-J Kilkelly

Technician: Dominic Angelo-Laloli

Original Music: Mārama Grant

Additional Music: Crystal Interference by Eliza Pickard

Cast

Louise Hepburn: Julie Edwards

Anthony Hepburn: Brian Kilkelly

Gavin: Matt Wilson

Stallholder: Mark Neilson

Students: Lani Swann, Phoebe Smith, and Simon Anderson

Sargent Thompson: Mark Neilson

Broadcast on Otago Access Radio oar.org.nz

When a young woman’s body is discovered in the Dunedin Town Belt, Louise Hepburn is haunted by both the case and her past.

Writer and Director: Emily Duncan

Producer: H-J Kilkelly

Technician: Dominic Angelo-Laloli

Original Music: Mārama Grant

Additional Music: Masquerades by Eliza Pickard

Cast

Louise Hepburn: Julie Edwards

Cricket Kids: Dmitri Latton and Margot Latton

Newsreader: Dougal Stevenson

Sarah: Mārama Grant

Witch: Cheryl Amos

Matthew: Robert Shand

Richard: Phil Vaughan

Great Aunt Fenella: Terry MacTavish

Policeman: Mark Neilson

Broadcast on Otago Access Radio oar.org.nz