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Send us a text '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.  Support the show

Send us a text 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. Support the show

Send us a text 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 Support the show

Send us a text 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 Support the show

Send us a text 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 Support the show

Send us a text 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.  Support the show

Send us a text 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] Support the show

Send us a text 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] Support the show

Send us a text 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] Support the show

Send us a text 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] Support the show

Send us a text The Bone Diver is the latest novel from Chicago born novelist Angie Spoto who now lives in Edinburgh.  Telling the story of Keir, an expert diver who is unable to kill, The Bone Diver is a gothic tale of family, the legend of the selkies and a young woman who is offered an impossible choice. Readings from The Bone Diver are by Sophie Macnair. Find out more about Angie Spoto and buy a copy of The Bone Diver by visiting her website here https://www.angiespoto.com/ Follow Angie Spoto on social media here https://x.com/angiespotowrite https://www.threads.net/@angiespotowrite https://www.instagram.com/angiespotowrite/ Find out about Sophie Macnair and hire her for your voice or acting project here https://app.spotlight.com/7656-8974-2745 Listen to Sophie in our Scottish Folklore audio drama "Selkie" by Signe Maene here https://www.buzzsprout.com/411730/episodes/3858479 Visit the Black and White website here https://blackandwhitepublishing.com/ Find out about the Cymera Festival which is a speculative fiction literary festival held annually in Edinburgh https://www.cymerafestival.co.uk/ 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] Support the show

Send us a text In this episode we chat with blogger, poet and freelance writer Alanna Duffield about her writing and the art of blogging.   With advice and thoughts on topics, style, frequency of posts and titles this not only a guide to getting started as a blogger but also an insight into Alanna's own creative practice.  We end with a look at Alanna's poetry. Throughout this episode you can hear excerpts from Alanna's blog posts and poems.  These are written, performed and recorded by Alanna Duffield and may not be reproduced in whole or part except with the written permission of the author.   Alanna Duffield is a writer, blogger and poet whose work explores pop culture, relationships, human connection, grief, nature and - of course - writing itself.  Her poetry and short stories have been published by the BBC, Dear Damsels and Aurelia Magazine. Her essays and journalism have been published by Cosmopolitan, Metro and Stylist. She also runs SILT, a weekly lifestyle publication on Substack.   Alanna has performed her poetry at Luxembourg Gallery, Mayfair and she was a headline performer for VERSES, a London-based poetry collective. You can read Alanna's blog art  alannaduffield.substack.com Her poetry blog is here  thelinebreak.substack.com and you can follow her on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/alannaduffield/ 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] Support the show

Send us a text In this episode we chat with fantasy author Alethea Lyons about her series of novels and short stories called The Seer of York.  We look at the influences on Thea's writing including the folklore of the British Isles and the inspiration that the City of York has been on her world.   Along the way we hear excerpts from Alethea's writing read by Emily Inkpen Find out more about Alethea Lyons by visiting here website here https://alethealyons.wixsite.com/stories Links to Alethea's social media channels and many other locations can be found here https://linktr.ee/alethearlyons You can find out about Alethea's publisher, Brigid's Gate Press here https://brigidsgatepress.com/ If you'd like to find out more about our reader Emily Inkpen and hire her for your voice or writing project you can do so here https://www.emilyinkpen.com/ We mentioned Rhianna Pratchett's BBC series about creatures from British folklore and you can listen here https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001tgpb 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] Support the show

Send us a text In this episode we share two short audio dramas by Nottingham based playwright and short fiction author Robbie Laughton. These were two of four plays we recorded with Robbie and our cast in August.  You can listen to our first podcast featuring Robbie's dramas "Hairy Fairy" and "Tormeted" which has since been featured on BBC Radio, here https://www.buzzsprout.com/411730/episodes/15864824 Please note that "Dog Only Knows", our second drama contains very strong and abusive language throughout.  Listener discretion is advised.  Hair's Breadth When Bob goes to the supermarket to buy extra supplies for a barbecque, he brings home more than a selction of wine and some hollandaise sauce... in fact, he forgets the hollandaise altogether.  In “Hair's Breadth” by Robbie Laughton Chris Gregory played Bob, John was played by David Monteith and Emma by Holy Gillanders.   Other voices were played by members of the cast.  "Hair's Breadth" was directed by Emily Inkpen and recorded at Orpheus Studio in London by Richard Campbell.   Sound design and production was by Chris Gregory.  Music was by Franz Gordon.  The script for “Hair's Breadth” is copyright Robbie Laughton and may not be produced in whole or in part except with the written permission of the author.   Dog Only Knows Dog walking can be frustrating when your dog doesn't want to follow orders and the whole world seems to be against you.  In “Dog Only Knows” by Robbie Laughton The Man was played by David Monteith.  Other voices were played by Holly Gillanders and Robbie Laughton.  "Dog Only Knows" was directed by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory and recorded at Orpheus Studio in London by Richard Campbell.   Sound design, music  and editing were by Chris Gregory.  The script for “Dog Only Knows” is copyright Robbie Laughton and may not be produced in whole or in part except with the written permission of the author.   Find out more about Robbie Laughton and his work by visiting his short fiction site Incredible Shorts here https://incredibleshorts.com/ The Writer's Gym Podcast Produced by Alternative Stories and featuring Rachel Knightley, Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory, the Writers' Gym Podcast tackles a different writing topic each week.  With discussions, writing advice, anecdotes and writing challenges you'll enjoy the podcast if you are a writer, reader or someone who enjoys conversations about writing and books.  https://open.spotify.com/show/0myjCJkk2pt6jPfdIa0AAr?si=0fd7d646491f4f01 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] Support the show

Send us a text In this episode we chat with novelist, academic and short story writer Philippa Holloway about her new short fiction collection "Untethered" which was published last month by Parthian.   Along the way we hear excerpts from the collection performed by Emily Inkpen and Chris Gregory.   In this podcast you heard excerpts from the following stories  A Cloud of Starlings - read by Emily Inkpen Handprints - read by Chris Gregory Beached - read by Emily Inkpen Sound design, editing, music and interviewing were by Chris Gregory   You can follow Philippa Holloway on X, formerly twitter here https://x.com/thejackdawspen And on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/thejackdawspen/ Find out more about Parthian Books and purchase a copy of "Untethered" here https://www.parthianbooks.com/ Follow Parthian on X here https://x.com/ParthianBooks And on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/parthian_books/   You can listen to Philippa's first podcast with Alt Stories in which we talked about her novel "The Half Life of Snails' here https://www.buzzsprout.com/411730/episodes/10479070-the-half-life-of-snails Please follow Alternative Stories on social media here https://x.com/StoriesAlt https://www.instagram.com/stories.alt/ And to contact the podcast please drop us an email at [email protected] or visit our website here https://alternativestories.com/ Support the show