Crowd Network partners with The Pankhurst Trust for latest podcast

Eliza, a new fiction podcast, confronts questions around evolving technology, gender dynamics and coercive control.

This eight-part series is released in partnership with The Pankhurst Trust (incorporating Manchester’s Women’s Aid). It coincides with National Domestic Violence Month, to show the reality behind the fiction.

As the world’s first emotional robot, Eliza, voiced by Sex Education’s Tanya Reynolds, is owned by Him (Arthur Darvill), who tries to control her and her freedom.

She has to learn quickly to control her own new emotions, as well as His, but Eliza lives in a world where the laws regulating robots mean that she can’t exist without Him.

As she discovers her owner is not the man she thinks He is, can she escape a life built around His desires and needs? One voice raises another and it’s time for Eliza to raise hers. This is Eliza, and this is her story.

Eliza was created by breakthrough female writer, Emma Hickman in 2020 during the first lockdown. It was a time when striking statistics and individual stories of violence against women in the UK were highlighted.

Emma worked closely with producer Ella Watts, described as ‘audio fiction queen’ by the Guardian, to turn her script into a compelling audio drama.

Alexis Adimora helped to build the powerful immersive sound, plus Executive producer Louise Gwilliam and assistant Catalina Noguera from Crowd Network made it an all-female production team to help tell this sensitive yet topical story.

Tanya Reynolds says: “It’s been a joy to work on this project with such a talented team of creatives. Eliza has been inspiring and challenging in so many ways.”

Elaine De Fries, Director of Operations at The Pankhurst Trust (incorporating Manchester Womens Aid) added: “We are proud to be associated with this podcast. It invites audiences to explore domestic abuse and explicitly coercive control through the eyes of an isolated and largely powerless individual, often the victims experience. 

“Eliza’s story is one which many will recognise or connect with, but it can be hard to reach out for help.  If listening to Eliza’s story raises questions about your relationship, please contact us on 0161 660 7999.”

Eliza is available from today, Monday 3 October on all podcast platforms.