I Went On Big Brother Sweden And Lost My Mind

Jessica Karlen thought going on Big Brother Sweden might be her ticket out of a tiny town where everyone worked at the toilet paper factory.

Instead, it ended with her being escorted out of the house, convinced she was uncovering a secret conspiracy, and waking up in hospital.

In this wildly funny and surprisingly moving story, Jessica recounts the reality TV adventure that turned into a psychotic episode, before performing an original song inspired by the experience.

It's a story about ambition, delusion, fame, failure and the uncomfortable possibility that sometimes there isn't a grand meaning behind any of it.

Part reality TV disaster. Part mental health story. Part original song cycle.

Recorded live at Barefaced Stories in Perth, Western Australia.

🎤 Storyteller: Jessica Karlen
🎭 Event: Music Edition 2025
📍 Barefaced Stories, Perth WA

For upcoming live shows and storytelling workshops visit: www.barefaced.com.au

I Broke My Neck at 20. This Song Tells What Happened Next

Shane Agnew thought he was invincible.

As a teenager he scribbled poems and song lyrics on greasy takeaway order slips while working at a Chinese restaurant. Then life got loud. Cars, girlfriends, dirt bikes and a seemingly endless run of near misses.

Seven days after his 20th birthday, a dirt bike crash changed everything.

Shane broke his neck at the highest level of his spinal cord and was given little chance of survival. After weeks in intensive care and a long road of rehabilitation, he found himself asking what was left of life.

Years later, an unexpected friendship reignited his love of writing and led to the creation of a song called Higher Than Superman.

In this special Music Edition performance from Barefaced Stories, Shane shares his remarkable story before joining forces with Alta Gang and Just Kane for a powerful live performance.

Recorded live at Barefaced Stories: Music Edition
The Rechabite Hall, Perth, Western Australia
18 December 2025

Featuring:
🎤 Shane Agnew
🎤 Alta Gang
🎤 Just Kane

Barefaced Stories is Western Australia's premier live storytelling event, where ordinary people tell extraordinary true stories from their lives.

🎟️ Live shows: www.barefaced.com.au

#BarefacedStories #Storytelling #ShaneAgnew #HigherThanSuperman #AustralianStories #LiveStorytelling #PerthEvents

I Paid $100 A Week To Learn Psychic Powers

Jeffrey Jay Fowler was 20 years old when a psychic told him he was a "very powerful psychic."

What started as a discounted Reiki weekend quickly turned into weekly psychic training sessions, guided meditations with Jesus, and promises that Hugh Jackman was secretly attending his theatre shows in disguise.

Looking back, Jeffrey can see exactly what was happening. But at the time, it wasn't psychic powers that kept him coming back.

It was something much more human.

This story was told at Barefaced Stories.

Theme: Unfinished Business
Date: September 2025
Storyteller: Jeffrey Jay Fowler

Barefaced Stories is Australia's favourite live storytelling event. Six people. Six true stories. No notes. No props. Just great stories told live on stage.

Listen to the Barefaced Stories podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

www.barefaced.com.au

#BarefacedStories #Storytelling #TrueStory #LiveStorytelling #ComedyStorytelling #Psychic #Reiki #HughJackman #JeffreyJayFowler #PerthEvents #AustralianStories

The Head on the Road

Late one night after a long dinner in the Barossa Valley, Grant Revell and his friend spot something horrifying on the side of the road.

At first, it looks impossible. A human head staring back at them from the darkness.

What follows is a true story filled with fear, wine, pitch-black country roads and one moment that could have changed a life forever.

Recorded live at Barefaced Stories in October 2025. The theme of the night was Gore Galore.

Barefaced Stories is a live storytelling night based in Perth, Western Australia — true stories, told live, no notes.

🎟 Upcoming shows & workshops: www.barefaced.com.au

📸 Filmed live at The Rechabite

#BarefacedStories #Storytelling #TrueStory #AustralianStories #BarossaValley #FunnyStories #LiveStorytelling #HorrorStory

I Had One Job. ONE JOB.

Chloe Donaldson moves to London chasing the dream: film sets, fancy coats, Europe on weekends and maybe — just maybe — brushing shoulders with celebrities.

Instead, she finds herself overworked, underpaid, stress-covered in cold sores and somehow becoming the unofficial PA to Meryl Streep.

What follows is a painfully funny story about film industry chaos, celebrity encounters, accidental British accents… and six words that have haunted her for nearly a decade.

Recorded live at Barefaced Stories in September 2024.
The theme of the night was Shame Shame.

Barefaced Stories is a live storytelling night based in Perth, Western Australia — true stories, told live, no notes.

🎟 Upcoming shows & workshops: www.barefaced.com.au

📍 Recorded live at The Rechabite

#BarefacedStories #MerylStreep #Storytelling #FunnyStory #FilmIndustry #LondonStories #TrueStory #AustralianStories

The Dog Who Saved My Life in Afghanistan

It was meant to be a routine mission. Then the ambush hit. And a dog named Fax made a split-second move that changed everything.

This is a true story told live on stage at Barefaced Stories.

In 2013, Ryan Wilson was deployed in Afghanistan, tasked with hunting a high-value target. When an ambush unfolded in seconds, it was a military working dog who took the hit — giving his team the time they needed to survive. That moment didn’t just change the mission. It changed Ryan’s life forever.

Storyteller: Ryan Wilson
Date: June 2025
Venue: Rechabite Hall, Perth
Theme: Pics or It Didn’t Happen
Video: Lewis Martin

Barefaced Stories is Australia’s most loved live storytelling night. Real people. Real stories. No notes. Stories that are funny, messy, brutal and deeply human — told live on stage.

See a show live:
https://www.barefaced.com.au/experiences

Listen to the podcast:
https://pod.link/1128175918

Subscribe for more true stories every week.

#BarefacedStories #truestories #military #dogs #storytelling #australianstories #realstories

Leanne’s gardening plans go up in smoke!

Leanne Newland had the crown jewel of Karrinyup, Perth and she had BIG plans for it… 🔥

It may have all gone up in smoke, but it made for a FANTASTIC Barefaced Story 🎙️ Leanne’s story was recorded live for “Unfinished Business” on September 25th 2025.

UPCOMING SHOWS & WORKSHOPS:
👉 https://www.barefaced.com.au/experiences

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST:
https://pod.link/1128175918

📸 @lewismartinphoto
📍 @TheRechabiteHall

Barefaced Stories is Australia’s most loved live storytelling night. Real people. Real stories. No notes. No scripts. No rehearsal. Stories that are funny, messy, brutal and deeply human — told live on stage.

Subscribe for more true stories every week.

#BarefacedStories #truestories #livestorytelling #storytelling #australianstories #storytime #realstories

The Need for Speed… Then the Fire Trucks Arrived

A few beers. A fast car. What could go wrong?

Julian Illich takes us back to a long weekend with mates, where a bit of harmless fun in a paddock quickly escalates into something far bigger than expected.

What starts as a few laps turns into a full-blown adrenaline rush—until flashing lights appear.

Recorded live at Barefaced Stories on 27 November 2025.

UPCOMING SHOWS & WORKSHOPS:
👉 https://www.barefaced.com.au/experiences

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST:
https://pod.link/1128175918

📸 @lewismartinphoto
📍 @TheRechabiteHall

Barefaced Stories is Australia’s most loved live storytelling night. Real people. Real stories. No notes. No scripts. No rehearsal. Stories that are funny, messy, brutal and deeply human — told live on stage.

Subscribe for more true stories every week.

#BarefacedStories #truestories #livestorytelling #storytelling #australianstories #storytime #realstories