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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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