NEWS: Listen Up @ Alphabetti Theatre Online

There’s no doubt that the events of the last year have given many people pause for thought in the way they run their businesses, and Newcastle’s independent theatre Alphabetti are no different. They’ve announced this month that they plan to do away with the ‘artistic revolving door’ programming model in order to focus on building stronger, more lasting relationships with artists. Four-week blocks will focus on one programmed production, with greater accessibility for those needing captioned or audio described performances, and a relaxed Saturday matinee. They also confirm that all their shows will be ‘pay as you feel’, further enabling a wide audience to access their programming.

News of what’s to come will be imminent, but for now they’re showcasing the results of their Listen Up project, with nine short plays written by under-represented writers in the North East kicking off from late January and available indefinitely on their website. Already on the site is an exciting audio thriller There’s Nothing To Worry About, by Julie Burrow, shortly to be joined from Monday 1^st February by Elijah Young’s Contactless, a heartfelt comedy drama about growing old and dealing with loss; James Piercy presents Transmission, his queer love-loss story with a twist on Monday 8^th; Laundry is a comedy drama audio play by Assad Zaman (Monday 15^th); and emerging writer Beth Nolan debuts her heart wrenching drama Jigsaw (Monday 22^nd). Kicking off on Monday 1^st March is Richard Boggie’s play about voices, Hearing Voices; Hannah Sowerby’s character Janet takes herself off on an unusual bus journey in Mystery Tour (Monday 8^th); Julie Tsang’s short audio play is about loss, honour and childhood friendships (Monday 15^th); and to round off the season on Monday 22^nd March, Jaz Craddock-Jones’ Roots Food sees a terminally ill Windrush migrant teach her British-born daughter some precious Jamaican recipes, with emotional results.