Write On! Audio, Podcasts & Videos

Thank you for listening to Write On! Audio, the podcast for writers everywhere brought to you by Pen to Print. 

Our Write On Audio and Friends episode for March features the Alternative Stories and Fake Realities Podcast and an audio drama by playwright Jane Walker .

”Theatre Workshop or The Ballad of Ewan and Joan” celebrates and tells the story of Theatre Workshop, the innovative theatre company founded by Ewan MacColl and Joan Littlewood in Manchester in the 1930s.  Producing hugely popular plays such as ”A Taste of Honey” by Shelagh Delaney and Joan Littlewood's ”Oh What A Lovely War” and relocating to The Theatre Royal Stratford East in East London in the 1960s. We hope you enjoy the story. 

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

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

All content associated with this podcast in audio and in print is protected and may not be copied or used for any purposes including generative AI/AI training. 

We’re always delighted to read your contributions so if you’d like to see your words in Write On! or hear them on this podcast please get in touch.

Please submit to: https://pentoprint.org/get-involved/submit-to-write-on/ 

Thank you for listening to Write On! Audio.  This edition has been presented and produced by Chris Gregory.  Write On! Audio is an Alternative Stories production for Pen to Print. 

This podcast is produced using public funding from Arts Council England.