Alternative Stories and Fake Realities

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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

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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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