Fable and Folly Productions bring their award-winning show to millions of fans

Hamilton ON, Canada—The magic that has enraptured more than a million listeners returns on November 18 as the Hamilton-based production company Fable and Folly Productions premieres the second season of their award-winning comedy podcast, The Axe & Crown.

Winner of the 2018 Parsec Award for Best Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Short Form) and an Official Selection for the Hear Now Festival (2018), The Axe & Crown is a satirical fantasy in the tradition of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and the novels of Terry Pratchett. In it, Gubbin the troll runs a grimy tavern in a rapidly gentrifying neighbourhood, with his clueless new landlord Stan and shady niece Betula to keep him company.

“Audio fiction podcasting is exploding. Marvel, Spotify, Netflix and other large studios are now actively releasing full cast-fiction podcasts, just like ours,” says producer Sean Howard. “Audio fiction podcasts are like a television show, but you can listen while you commute, drive or do chores around the house. We’ve been creating award-winning shows since 2011 and this is our year.”

“It’s a pretty special feeling to be able to bring back such beloved characters,” says show creator Eli McIlveen. “This season of The Axe & Crown sees the cast, especially Stan and Betula, embarking on new ventures, some legal, some not. The fantasy setting we’ve created gives us a playful space to send up things like the restaurant business and startup culture.”

“Audio fiction is a creative industry that is undergoing massive growth. And one that is truly democratized in a way other media can’t match,” explains Sean. “The barriers to entry are quite low, which means that new voices lacking representation in traditional media are developing powerful fan bases. As queer creators, we no longer need to play the Hollywood lottery to get our shows made.”

The Axe & Crown is available on the Alba Salix, Royal Physician podcast feed. It is one of three shows that take place in the same fantasy world. All three can be heard at on the web, on the iTunes store, or anywhere podcasts are found. Just subscribe to Alba Salix in your favourite podcast app or go to: albasalix.com

Fable and Folly Productions is dedicated to audio fiction and creating the stories we need to hear. Sean and Eli began writing and producing shows in 2011 and formed Fable and Folly in 2019. Their flagship podcast, the award-winning Alba Salix, Royal Physician, was first recorded in a dining room lined with blankets and pillows. Today, they are as likely to be found in our third-floor home studio as they are in a high-end audio production facility.