Wayward Strand: voice cast revealed

Wayward Strand is a heartfelt narrative game developed by Ghost Pattern, and releasing next month in Europe and North America. It takes place on an airborne hospital, and features a charming cast of eclectic characters. The best part? Said characters are fully voiced! And it’s not just a few lines here and there: there’s over 18,000 lines of dialogue in total!

Over the past couple of days, Ghost Pattern revealed the various people who lent their voices to the characters of Wayward. Here’s a video introducing them all:

The Wayward Strand voice cast is as follows:

• Anne Charleston as Ida Vaughan

Although many of you have recognised her from her iconic role as Madge on Neighbours, Anne has had a stellar international career in theatre, film and TV.

• Michela Ledwidge as Esther Fitzgerald

A director in her own right, working across visual & digital media. Michela put such consideration & research into her portrayal of our Esther, and it shows – playtesters are already falling in love with her!

• Shane Clayton as Ted Muir

Shane is a young Bunurong man, a performer, and an absolute delight! He brought spades of humour to the recording studio, and so much warmth & heart to the character of Ted.

• Erhard Hartmann as Heinrich Pruess

When we wrote this character, we thought he was cold, inscrutable, solitary. But Erhard Hartmann infused Heinrich with such incredible joy, and truly brought the character to life – all the way from Austria!

• Michael Caton as Neil Avery

You’ll remember him from The Castle, or The Sullivans, but in truth, if you live in Australia and you own a TV, you can guarantee his face has been on it.

• Jenny Seedsman as Ruth Beaumaris

Neighbours, Blue Heelers, State Coroner – you name it, she’s been in it. Jenny brought a lot of care and warmth to the character of Ruth, even in her harshest moments

• Josiah Lulham as Felix Pettigrew

Felix Pettigrew, hospital director, is warm, energetic, and always immaculately dressed. Bringing infectious effervescence to this role is Josiah Lulham! Josiah wears many hats: theatre actor, facilitator, and anthropology scholar.

• John Barrett as Devin the Cook

Our Celtic Cuisinier may be shrouded in mystery in the game, but we can finally reveal his identity in real life. John Barrett is the voice of Devin the cook! John also helped us add some Irish language to the game, which was a real treat.

• Harriet Wallace-Mead as Nurse Lily Marshall

Nurse Lily Marshall will be played by Harriet Wallace-Mead! Harriet played Lily in our 2019 demo, and when we were casting, she was one of the first performers we decided on – Lily just wouldn’t be Lily without this voice!

• Peter Paltos as Joe Tagliabue

In Wayward Strand, Lily works closely with another nurse, Joe Tagliabue, played by the wonderful Peter Paltos. Apart from being an experienced and gifted actor, Peter also happens to be a healthcare worker! So he was able to bring so much wisdom and insight to this performance.

• Jennifer Vuletic as Dr Margot Bouchard

We worked with the delightful Jennifer Vuletic for the role of Dr Margot Bouchard; she brought so much power & humanity to one of our more heartbreaking characters (you’ll see). From our first meeting, Jennifer was so positive about our work, which meant so much to us as a team.

• Renee Lim as Dr Celine Shen

Our last staff member to reveal: Dr Celine Shen is played by Renee Lim, who, believe it or not, is both a practising actor AND a practising doctor! So this role was a walk in the park for Renee, who brought such a depth of subject matter knowledge to her role.

• Nancy Curtis as Casey

Last, but certainly not least, our Casey. It is such an incredible honour to introduce you to Nancy Curtis. Intelligence. Humour. Work ethic. Nancy recorded a whopping 1200+ pages of dialogue in just 10 studio sessions. And she made it such a delight! Welcome, Nancy!

And finally, here’s some details and screenshots for the game:

Welcome to the Hospital

It’s the summer of 1978, and Casey Beaumaris is trying to make the most of her holidays, when her mum asks her to spend a long weekend helping out at the airborne hospital where she works.

Casey prefers the company of books to people, but she agrees, secretly planning to write an article about her visit for the school newspaper.

With her trusty notebook at the ready, Casey arrives on board the airship. The staff are overworked as they prepare for the visit of an important official, while the patients react to grief, or deal with active trauma.

In the midst of these and many other interlocking and overlapping stories, Casey spends time with the patients, learning about their lives, and, as the stories unfold, discovering what she can do to help.

Explore A Living World

Within the world of Wayward Strand, time passes for everyone – characters continue their lives without waiting for you to interact with them. In Wayward Strand’s unique narrative structure, the stories of over a dozen characters constantly unfold around you in real time, as you, as Casey, roam freely throughout each day.

Choose which story to be a part of by following people, having conversations, and exploring the hospital.

The hospital’s residents are an eclectic cast of characters – some charming, some eccentric, some rude – each with their own desires, goals and imaginations. Every character moves and acts of their own accord, at their own pace, on their own timeline – sharing news with each other, arguing, joking, gossiping – or having a chat with Casey when she comes by.

Every playthrough gives you the opportunity to discover something you didn’t see previously – what you missed the first time, you might see the second, third, or fifth time around.

Your Journey

When you see someone, you can follow them, to see where they go and what they get up to. You can eavesdrop on peoples’ conversations, or come into the room and be a part of the discussion.

Spending time with particular characters will lead you to new storylines, locations, revelations and resolutions.

As the journalist for her school newspaper, Casey keeps track of events and information in her notebook. Players use Casey’s notebook to delve deeper into peoples’ stories, to make new discoveries, and to piece together mysteries.

Wayward Strand (Switch – eShop) comes out on September 15th in Europe and North America.

Source: Ghost Pattern (Twitter) / Ghost Pattern (Steam)