Meet the writer...ALAN SPENCE.

        "I'd like to thank the cast of actors for portraying  the experience of young  people's lives.  It was very good."   "This production has some important key messages and  the cast are  an amazing   group of people."      “If you have not booked your tickets yet, I recommend that you do so.    “This play should be seen by every school,  it  was excellent and so topical”                            Congratulations Alan Spence. I also thought these actors were great at doubling-up as teenagers and parents”.     “It addresses some serious subject matter that affects young adults and  families of all cultures, ranging from Cyber-bulling, Sexting,Child Exploitation,  Pornography and much mor...

“With your plays, it’s not just about the football and the Steel Strike, it’s all about us. It’s about our lives, how we live”.                               Kay and Tom , Drake the Bookshop signing.   “If you want to know what life was like for an ordinary working-class family on Tees-side, during the steel strike of 1980, you can do no better than buy Nowt Like This in America, a superb Community Play written by Alan Spence. Thoughtful, funny, emotionally powerful, it follows the fortunes of one family, the personal being framed by the political. As an added bonus, the script is contextualised by both background material on the author and the period (heartfelt and honest) as well as production notes".        Bri...

                            

Book and theatre lovers in Saltburn, Stockton and Middlesbrough have the chance to hear Alan Spence talking about and reading from his acclaimed The BORO's 37mins and his new book Nowt Like This in America - an untold history of the 1980 Steel strike. And the dates for your diaries are... Book Corner Saltburn:  Thursday 7th Sept at 11am. Drake - the Bookshop, Stockton: Friday 8th Sept at 3pm. Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough Saturday 9th Sept at 11am. 

1540 – 1570. Mary Queen of Scots   was known to have been a spectator of the sport and a ball formerly in her possession, was found in 1970 during excavation work at Stirling Castle. It was then re-discovered in the archives of Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum, and tests confirmed it indeed was created 436 years ago  and claimed by some, to be the oldest football still in existence. 1580: It is impossible to say when women started playing  football, but there is limited evidence suggesting women were occasionally involved, as in the   16th Century poem “A Dialogue Betweene Two Shepherds”, by Sir Phillip Sydney Two Shepherds Will and Dick...   WILL. Dick  since  we  cannot  dance, come, let a  cheerful  voice Show that we do not  grudge  at all when  others  do rejoice. DICK. Ah Will,  though  I  grudge  not, I  count  it  feeble  glee, With  sight  made...

Life-long Boro fan Steve Cook  sat having a beer🍺 sat on P&Os Iona.  Reading Alan Spence's book. #UTB #believe. Steve said...it was an amazing read!!   And here's a little reminder for you...                              

  An untold history of the 1980 Steel strike. The story of a family, a community and an industry.  Coming in Autumn 2023. 

 Fun activities with games, exercises, movement and even song.  As well as reading play extracts of Shakespeare, Churchill, Miller, Littlewood, Wesker and many more...

Led by playwright Alan Spence. 

So proud to be involved for the first time, nominating John and Viv Berry from the Printers Playhouse in Eastbourne, so well deserved. (That's John and Viv end left and me end right) The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain has announced the winners for its annual Olwen Wymark Awards, which celebrate those who have championed new writing.  Founded by playwrights Mark Ravenhill and David James, the awards give writers the opportunity to publicly thank those who have given them a positive experience related to new writing in the previous year.  The winners include directors at Printers Playhouse John and Viv Berry, who were nominated by Alan Spence for their support of his proposals, including workshops, plays, courses and festivals, and producer Matt Brinkler who was nominated by David Kent for the support of his musical Soul Sisters.  Other winners include associate producer at Harrogate Theatre Porl Cooper, who was nominated by Rachael Halliwell for his mentorship and champio...

  So grateful to all at Middlesbrough FC and Middlesbrough Reads for their support in this. Really looking forward to reading the entries. Good luck everyone!! Good afternoon, I am writing to you today with details of a Literacy Challenge that we, The MFC Foundation, are running in partnership with Middlesbrough Reads (National Literacy Trust) and writer Alan Spence, author of the play “The Boro’s 37 Minutes”. The objective of the challenge is the get the children to create a piece of work about George Camsell, a Middlesbrough FC legend of days gone by. This could be a poem, song, rap or poster telling of his life, career and his importance to the club and town. The winning student will win a goody bag and a tour of the Riverside Stadium for their class. Runners up will also receive a goody bag.   This challenge will be going out to our partner schools as well as online via our website, The National Literacy Trust and Virtual Schools and will be judged by Alan himself as well ...

The BORO's 37mins is now available on Amazon.        £9.99 plus p & p. or £4.99 ebook. The BORO's 37mins: Celebrating 25 years...Back from the brink.: Official Script and Handbook : Spence, Alan, Spence, Alan: Amazon.co.uk: Books Great for Christmas, Birthdays, Easter, Anniversaries, educating family and friends or just for being you and give yourself  a treat!!!