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'Theatre Workshop or The Ballad of Ewan And Joan' tells the true story of Theatre Workshop, an innovative theatre and performance company and the individuals who founded and ran it from its formation in Manchester in the 1930s to its move to London in the 1960s including theatremaker and folk singer Ewan MacColl and actor, director Joan Littlewood.  Theatre Workshop is written by Manchester born playwright Jane Walker and performed by an ensemble cast. 

In 'Theatre Workshop or The Ballad of Ewan and Joan' by Jane Walker you can hear

Michael Ashtiany as Ewan Maccoll

Francesca Anderson as Joan Littlewood

Charlie Richards as Newsboy and Kenneth Tynan

Tom Rope as Archie Harding and Gerry Raffles

Kathryn Georghiou as Shelagh Delaney and Rosalie Williams

Rebecca Bugeja as Jean Newlove and Avis Bunnage

Jane Walker as Woman

and Chris Gregory as Colonel Pennyman

Other voices were played by members of the cast

'Theatre Workshop or the Ballad of Ewan and Joan' was directed by Chris Gregory and Jane Walker

It was recorded at Orpheus Studio in London by Richard "Orpheus" Campbell

Production, sound design and editing were by Chris Gregory for Alternative Stories

Casting was by Chris Gregory and Jane Walker

Most of the characters depicted in this play are based on real people who played important roles in the Theatre Workshop story. This play however, is a work of fiction and the conversations you heard are imagined based on real events and do not purport to accurately represent actual conversations or interactions between individuals.

The excerpts from Agit-prop and Theatre Workshop plays were used with the permission of Manchester University Press and performed by members of the cast

'Dirty Old Town' was used with the permission of Proper Records Ltd

'Scarborough Fair' is a traditional song performed by members of the cast

'Fare Thee Well" is a traditional song performed by members of the cast

Other music used in this production is copyright free and sourced from Epidemic Sounds.

The script for 'Theatre Workshop or The Ballad of Ewan and Joan' is copyright Jane Walker and may not be used in whole or part except with the permission of the author.

To find out more about Jane Walker and her work please visit her website https://www.enajwrites.co.uk

To find out more about our production company, Alternative Stories, please visit the link below https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories

You can find out more about Theatre Workshop and its history by following this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_Workshop

To support our work and receive early, ad-free access to Alternative Stories shows  join our Patreon . Click the link here to find out more and join us. ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/AltStories⁠⁠⁠

 By joining our Patreon you’ll also get our entire back-catalogue of episodes ad-free, plus new episodes 2-days early, plus bonus content and more for The Dex Legacy and all our shows, including Wasteland - A Dex Legacy Story, Burnout, Spec Fic Radio Theatre and Writing Worlds. 

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When Harry and Agnes Wells inherit an old house in Cornwall in the summer of 1999 they visit with the intention of renovating the building.  But as days pass they discover the house has some unexpected secrets.   

The Angry House is an award-winning drama by novelist Thomas Wrightson.

In 'The Angry House' by Thomas Wrightson you can hear:

Charlie Richards as Harry

Marie-Claire Wood as Agnes

David Monteith as Gerald

and Sarah Golding as Samantha Gregory

Whispers and other voices by the cast and Thomas Wrightson

The Angry House was produced and directed by Chris Gregory

Casting was by Chris Gregory and Thomas Wrightson

The original score for The Angry House was arranged and performed by Chris Gregory
Sound design, mixing and editing are by Chris Gregory for Alternative Stories

Thomas Wrightson is a novelist based in Anglesey in North Wales. You can find out more about Thomas and his work by visiting his website here:  https://thomaswrightson.co.uk/

The Angry House was the winning script in the 2025 Pen to Print Audio Play Competition. The competition which is open to audio drama writers who have not previously had an audio drama produced runs annually and a number of the winning scripts can be heard on this podcast. To find out more about the competition and to enter the 2026 version please visit the Pen to Print website here  https://pentoprint.org/get-involved/competitions/

Alternative Stories would like to thank Pen to Print for running the competition and Lucy Kaufman and Emily Inkpen for judging entries alongside Chris Gregory.

If you have enjoyed this episode of Spec Fic Radio Theatre please subscribe and leave us a like, rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts.

 You may like to know that Alternative Stories now has a Patreon page where you can listen to all of our shows ad free and ahead of general release.  You can find out more and join here  https://www.patreon.com/AltStories.

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Welcome to a new mini series of the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities Podcast

 This week we have short fiction from Welsh poet, novelist and short story writer Christopher Meredith.   The story you're about to hear is a seasonal piece set in the early 1960s in south Wales.  It's  called 'The Cavalry' and it's from Chris's brilliant collection 'Brief Lives' which is published by Seren.

You can order a copy of Brief Lives here https://www.serenbooks.com/book/brief-lives/

 Christopher Meredith is the award-winning author of five novels and five collections of poetry and also tranlsates Welsh to English. Prizes include an Eric Gregory Award, the Arts Council of Wales Young Writer Prize and the Fiction Prize for his first novel, Shifts. His second novel, Griffri, was shortlisted for the Book of the Year Award.  His collection of poems, The Meaning of Flight, was long-listed for The Book of the Year Award 2006.  He has given readings all over Britain and Europe as well as in Israel/Palestine and the USA.  Born and brought up in Tredegar, he was a steelworker and a schoolteacher before becoming a professor of creative writing at the University of Glamorgan. He lives in Brecon. A collection of six short fictions, titled Brief Lives, was released in 2018. 

Find out more about Christopher Meredith by visiting his website here https://christophermeredit9.wixsite.com/website

All content in audio, onscreen and in print is protected and may not be copied or used for any purposes including generative AI/AI training.

Join us next week on the alternative stories and fake realities podcast for award winning audio drama.  The Angry House by Thomas Wrightson is a ghost story set in Cornwall in the late 1990s and it was the winner of the 2025 Pen to Print Audio play competition.  

Production, sound design and editing in this episode were by Chris Gregory.

If you'd like to support the work of Alternative Stories, gain early access to many of our podcasts and hear exclusive bonus episodes please consider joining our Patreon.  You can find a link here: https://www.patreon.com/AltStories

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In this episode of the Alternative Stories podcast we're chatting with poet, novelist and audio drama writer Madeleine F White about the two books she is publishing in the first part of 2025; the poetry collection 'The Horse and The Girl' and the verse memoir 'Maiden Mother Crone' 

 We have a full length interview with Madeleine and excerpts from the collections read by Madeleine.  We also hear a clip from Madeleine's audio drama 'The Ark' based on her debut novel 'Mother of Floods' and an excerpt from an episode of the 'Write On! Audio' Podcast. 

You can follow Madeleine f White on social media here 

https://bsky.app/profile/madeleinefwhite.bsky.social

https://x.com/madeleinefwhite

https://www.instagram.com/madeleinefwhite/

The Horse and The Girl and Maiden Mother Crone are both published by Sea Crow Press.  You can find out more and order copies here 

https://www.seacrowpress.com/

Find out more about the  Write On! suite of publications which Madeleine edits here

Write on! https://pentoprint.org/write-on-features/

Listen to the Write On! Audio Podcast from Pen to Print here https://open.spotify.com/show/4IG6ODY67eJjTXFmC5nFP5?si=3c9f3ebcfd9d4be3

If you have enjoyed this podcast you can listen to more from our production company Alternative Stories including our new science fiction drama 'Burnout' here https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories

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There are hundreds of Blue Plaques on buildings around London commemorating the famous people who lived there at some time in the building’s history .  But only one building has three plaques for three different people who lived in the building at the same time.  Chiltern Court on Baker Street was home to novelists HG Wells and Arnold Bennett and composer Eric Coates in the early 1930s. 

In this new audio drama by Brian Hipkin we imagine a pivotal meeting between the three in December 1930 and a modern day investigation into events from the 30s. 

In A Blue Plaque Mystery by Brian Hipkin you heard 

Ewan Bailey as Arnold Bennett

Jon Glover as HG Wells 

Zephryn Taitte as Eric Coates 

Charlie Richards as The Concierge 

Grace Savage as Cassie

Ria Knowles as Sunday 

Tom McEnery as Voice on the recording 

Maya Cohen Gregory as Phyllis Coates

And Samira Ahmed as herself 

A Blue Plaque Mystery was directed by Chris Gregory 

It was produced by Brian Hipkin and Chris Gregory and recorded at Orpheus Studio in London by Richard “Orpheus” Campbell 

Production sound-design and editing were by Chris Gregory 

The studio assistants were Holly Hughes and Maya Cohen Gregory

The music tracks in this production are 

Saint James Infirmary Blues by Cab Calloway

By a Sleepy Lagoon by Eric Coates 

You can find out more about Brian Hipkin and his work by following him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/brianhipkin/

To find out more about Alternative Stories, listen to our other dramas and contact us you can find all our links here https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories

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In this short episode Chris Gregory and Emily Inkpen introduce two new Alternative Stories audio drama series.   You can hear trailers for our two new shows Wasteland and Burnout which are both available on their own podcast platforms. 

To listen to Wasteland you can search "Wasteland A Dex Legacy Story" wherever you listen to podcasts or you can click here to find it https://pod.link/1790863463

If you would like to listen to Burnout you can find it by searching "Burnout Alternative Stories" in your favourite podcast app or click here to find it https://pod.link/1798982875

To follow Alternative Stories on social media you can click the links below to find and follow us on your social platform of choice 

https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt

https://bsky.app/profile/storiesalt.bsky.social

https://x.com/StoriesAlt

https://www.threads.net/@stories.alt

Follow us to learn more about upcoming Alternative Stories productions including upcoming podcasts in our ninth series. 

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In orbit around our planet, an alien creature is listening in on Earth noise.  One sound in particular seems to have a greater significance than others but what does it mean and how will Skim and Beta find out more about it?  In our final Alternative Stories episode of 2024 we are bringing you the winner of the 2024 Pen to Print Audio Play Competition “The Earth Serenades” by Emma Griffiths.   

 In “The Earth Serenades” by Emma Griffiths you can hear

 Tiffany Clare as Skim

Emily Inkpen as Beta 

Sophie Macnair as Pree 

And Chris Gregory as Shakarn

Other voices were played by Sophie Macnair and Emma Griffiths 

 The Earth Serenades was Directed by Chris Gregory and Emily Inkpen and recorded at Orpheus Studio in London

The sound engineer was Richard Campbell

Music, sound design and editing were by Chris Gregory

 The script for the earth serenades is copyright Emma Griffiths and may not be used in whole or in part except with the permission of the author

 If you would like to enter the 2025 Pen to Print Audio Play Competition you need to be an unpublished audio drama writer and resident in the United Kingdom.  The competition is open to entries until 5pm on Friday 21st March.   You can find out more and download entry terms and conditions via the link below

https://pentoprint.org/get-involved/competitions/

The interview in this episode was conducted by Emily Inkpen and the presenter was Chris Gregory

To find out more about Alternative Stories and our work you can follow us on social media
https://x.com/StoriesAlt
https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/
or visit our website https://alternativestories.com/
and Linktree here https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories
Contact us by email at [email protected]

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In this episode we look at the world of gaming and discuss the many and varied storytelling styles and approaches within games.  Our guests are games industry expert, actual-play podcaster and author Oscar Clark and novelist, audio drama author and game writer Emily Inkpen.

If you would like to watch a video version of this conversation you can find it on the Alternative Stories YouTube channel here

Find out more about Oscar Clark and his work in the games industry by following him
Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/oscarclark/
Twitter / X  https://x.com/Athanateus
Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/athanateus.bsky.social

You can watch Oscar's actual play podcast Anything Can Happen on YouTube here https://www.youtube.com/@AnythingCouldHappen-show
and listen via Spotify here https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anything-could-happen

You can find out more about Emily Inkpen and her work by visiting her website
here https://www.emilyinkpen.com/

Find out more about The Dex Legacy here
https://www.emilyinkpen.com/thedexlegacy-home

Follow Emily on social media
Twitter / X https://x.com/emilyinkpen
BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/emilyinkpen.bsky.social
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/emilyinkpen/

To find out more about Alternative Stories and our work you can follow us on social media
https://x.com/StoriesAlt
https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/
or visit our website https://alternativestories.com/
and Linktree here https://linktr.ee/AlternativeStories
Contact us by email at [email protected]

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In this bonus episode of the podcast we are looking at the Script Club New York City production of  "The Out-Of-Towners Club", an adapted version of an audio drama that originally ran on this podcast back in 2019.

In our interview you can hear Script Club NYC members Jackie Jorgenson, Roger Lipson, Alex Highsmith and Jess Thompson talking about their roles in the upcoming performances at the Fiction Bar / Cafe in Brooklyn

You can also hear an excerpt from our original audio drama featuring Miguel Antonio as Dan (written by Chris Gregory, Jackie Jorgenson and Mary McDonald) and an excerpt from the Script Club NYC production performed by Alex Highsmith and Jess Thompson.

You can get tickets for Out-Of-Towners Club performances on 7th and 21st December here https://script-club-nyc.ticketleap.com/holiday-radio-show/

And find out more about Script Club NYC here linktr.ee/scriptclubnyc

Follow Script Club NYC on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/scriptclubnyc/

You can hear our original audio drama of The Out-Of-Towners Club from 2019 here
and the sequel "Out-Of-Towners" here 



To find out more about Alternative Stories and our work you can follow us on social media
https://x.com/StoriesAlt
https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/
or visit our website https://alternativestories.com/
Contact us by email at [email protected]

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In this episode we are introducing another Alternative Stories podcast you may enjoy.  The Writers' Gym features Chris Gregory, Dr Rachel Knightley and Emily Inkpen and each week we discuss a different writing topic.  Whether you are a writer yourself or simply interested in books and writing you'll find plenty to enjoy.  Covering novels, short fiction, scripts, screenplays, audio drama and all stops in between you can catch the podcast by searching "The Writers Gym" in your favourite podcast app or clicking the links below.

Listen / subscribe via Spotify here 
https://open.spotify.com/show/0myjCJkk2pt6jPfdIa0AAr?si=f18ec34cef764327

and via Apple Podcasts here
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-writers-gym-podcast/id1674424465


You can listen to Rachel Knightley's audio drama "Winter Spring" here https://open.spotify.com/episode/2gBu6Bqmc7CiC8zwXTYIPZ?si=b2c423862aaf4438

 Emily's drama serial "The Dex Legacy" can be heard here  https://open.spotify.com/show/1aphgDiefw4FdO8EN5LJxy?si=2908e95681354b81

Join the Writers’ Gym and book your next writing workout at https://www.rachelknightley.com/the-writers-gym/

Find out more about The Writers' Gym and Rachel Knightley by going to: https://www.rachelknightley.com/

Find out more about Emily Inkpen and her work by going to: https://www.emilyinkpen.com/

Learn more about Chris Gregory and Alternative Stories here https://alternativestories.com/

Follow the Writers’ Gym and contact us on Social Media:

https://x.com/TheWritersGymRK

https://www.instagram.com/jointhewritersgym/ 

https://www.facebook.com/JoinTheWritersGym/

Subscribe to The Writers’ Gym in your favourite podcast app to be notified of all new episodes as they are released.

Contact us by email at [email protected]

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