Alphabetti Theatre, in partnership with the Royal College of Nursing Research Forum and Northumbria University Nursing Department present the World Premier of
The Nurse’s Station
Written by Ruth Lyon & Ali Pritchard
Directed by Ali Pritchard
Tues 10th – Sat 28th September 2024
Times: 7:30pm plus 1pm Saturday Matinees
-Please note there will be no latecomers admitted once the show has begun. Please arrive prompt and contact the theatre if you are running late.
Running Times: 90 minutes (Including interval)
Tickets: Pay What You Feel (10th – 14th September)
£15 - £3 (17th – 28th September)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Access performances:
Captioned: Wednesday 18th
Enhanced Touch Tour: 6:30pm – 7.00pm on Tuesday 24th
Audio described: Wednesday 25th
Relaxed performances: all Saturday Matinees
A new folk gig theatre show created by an award-winning creative team, crafted from real-life stories of seasoned and newly trained nurses.
A nurses' station never sleeps. One person hands over the last twelve hours of their life, their shift, to the next, continuing a centuries-old chain of life, death, family, friendship, change, and memory. Like a timeless folk song passed through generations, this show captures the vibrant hive of the nurses' station—embracing love, laughter, and every challenge in between. Crafted from real-life stories of seasoned and newly trained nurses, it’s a celebration of their enduring spirit and dedication, told through dark humour and amazing music.
Praise for previous work:
“Under Pritchard’s nimble direction, the piece offers light and dark in equal measure, laced with both broad humour and dry wit.” The Stage, 2024
“Pritchard never lets the pace sag, while giving the emotional beats time to land.” The Stage, 2024
“Beautifully written and powerfully performed, this alternative Christmas fable is packed with humour and heart.” The Stage, 2019
“Ali Pritchard’s sparsely staged production does a skilful job of keeping the audience off balance with abrupt changes in tone. The audience is invited to laugh at comic misfortune one minute, and then made choke on that laughter the next.” The Stage, 2019
“Director Ali Pritchard ensures the piece balances its strands of dark – often very funny – comedy and black, bleak tragedy, and keeps it from tipping too far into its own absurdism.” Exeunt, 2019
Videos of Ruth Lyon’s work:
MEET THE TEAM
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Luke Maddison - Actor
Luke is a professional actor and performance coach from the North East. Beginning his career at 18, Luke has gained a wealth of experience in many different genres of performance ranging from Stage and Screen to Radio and Opera.
Luke can currently be seen playing the role of 'Matthew Hardy' in 'Can I Tell You A Secret' on Netflix worldwide.
Luke is very excited to be back at Alphabetti theatre for Ali Prichard's parting project and hopes to do him justice on it!
Credits include:
'Can I Tell You A Secret' - Netflix
'Inspector George Gently' - BBC
'Whale of a time' - Peachplant Productions
'War of the Worlds' - Northern Stage
'Leaving' (National Tour) - Curious Monkey
'Der Rosenkavalier' (National Tour) - Opera North
'Isolation' - Alphabetti theatre
'When the boat comes in' Pt1/Pt2- Customs House
'1916 No turning back' - Gala
'Supernova' - Live theatre
Rosie Stancliffe - Actor
Rosie is an actor and voice coach, trained at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She is an Associate Artist of Alphabetti Theatre and is thrilled to be back for Ali’s final show, having first worked together in his 2013 production Three Shorts.
Other Alphabetti credits include Christmas Cabaret I & II, How Did We Get To This Point, The Rooms. Other theatre includes Peter Pan & Wendy, Cinderella (Gala Durham); Mary & The Hyenas (rehearsed reading, Hull Truck/Pilot Theatre); Beyond Caring (Queens Hall Hexham/Gala Durham/Regional tour); The White Card (cover at Soho Theatre); ROAD (Northern Stage); Locker Room Talk (Live Theatre); Leaving (Curious Monkey/Northern Stage/UK Tour); Overdue(Coracle Productions).
TV & Radio include Danny & Mick (CBBC); Vera (ITV); Suffrage Dramas, Beware the Kids (BBC Radio 3)
Ali Pritchard - Writer, Director & Designer
Ali Pritchard is a highly accomplished writer, director, and producer, who has become a leading figure in the UK's grassroots arts community, with a passion for accessible, joyful and thought-provoking theatre. Ali is best known for founding Alphabetti Theatre in 2012, which has since grown into one of the UKs leading studio theatres and Newcastle upon Tyne’s most vibrant cultural hubs. Over the past decade, his leadership has transformed Alphabetti from an ambitious startup into an award-winning venue, receiving the 2023 North East Culture Award for Best Museum or Cultural Venue and 2023 Fringe Theatre of the Year at The Stage Awards.
Ali's innovative and community-centred approach to theatre has earned him a spot in The 2023 Stage's Top 100 Most Influential People in Theatre. Known for championing emerging talent and experimental theatre, Ali’s work spans multiple roles as a writer, director, and producer. His extensive list of credits includes productions such as Bacon Knees & Sausage Fingers By Gary Kitching & Steve Byron, Trolley Boy by David Raynor, and hope is a 4 letter word by gobscure. His directorial style has been praised for its balance of humour, emotional nuance, and engaging narrative structures. As The Stage notes, "Pritchard never lets the pace sag, while giving the emotional beats time to land."
Ali's impact extends beyond his own theatre. In 2017, he co-founded the Newcastle Fringe Festival, which he remains a co-director of. The festival showcases a diverse array of performances and provides a platform for both local and international artists. This commitment to developing the arts in the North East of England has further solidified his standing as a cultural leader.
Ali’s contributions to the arts were recently celebrated when he was presented to King Charles III at a Buckingham Palace event in 2024 for his contribution to grassroots theatre. He also continues to teach as a visiting lecturer across various institutions.
Throughout his career, Ali has continually pushed the boundaries of what theatre can achieve. His productions often tackle challenging social issues and strive to connect with audiences in meaningful, accessible ways. One such production is Present, an upcoming Christmas show that will run at Live Theatre in December 2024. Set within the homeless community, it tells a heartwarming yet socially resonant story of a man on a quest to find a Christmas present for his grandson. Like much of his work, it reflects Ali's ability to fuse comedy, heart, and hard-hitting themes in a way that resonates deeply with audiences.
Ali Pritchard's career continues to grow, marked by his relentless drive to create theatre that challenges, entertains, and empowers both artists and audiences alike. As he moves forward, his departure from Alphabetti Theatre as Artistic/Executive Director in 2024 marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter in his career, filled with new opportunities to make an even greater impact on the arts.
Ruth Lyon - Writer & Composer
Ruth grew up in North Yorkshire, before moving to Newcastle to study Fashion Design at Northumbria University. Meanwhile, she began fronting the folk rock outfit Holy Moly & The Crackers, with which she has toured the UK and Europe extensively, plus soundtracked the end credits of Ocean’s 8 with the track “Cold Comfort Lane”.
Over the years, she’s established herself as a key and active member of the Newcastle music scene, including in her role on the board of directors at Sage Gateshead. “Because there isn’t a lot of industry up here, it can feel like you have to move to London to be successful,” she says. “But I’m really proud of the musicians that are trying to make it so we can be established, we can be successful and we can make good art in the North.” She has also advocated for the Disabled community in her work as an ambassador for Attitude Is Everything, a charity that aims to improve accessibility for Deaf and Disabled people in live music; Lyon herself has been a wheelchair user since the age of 21.
Dominic Simpson- Research Producer
Dominic Simpson is an Assistant Professor and Employability lead from team Nursing Midwifery and Health at Northumbria University. Dominic has clinical roles involved specialising in intensive care and emergency medicine. Over the last seven years Dominic has worked as a Senior Academic, supporting nearly 10,000 new nurses to join the workforce, to contribute to the eternal hive of the Nurses station, and continue the tradition of collecting and sharing the stories of their wonderful, compassionate, life changing work. Dominic is a research producer of The Nurses Station, working with Ali and Ruth to help add authenticity to the production.
Wraparound events during this project
Izaak Gledhill reacts to The Nurse’s Station
17th – 19th September 2024
Straight after the performance of Nurse’s Station
Alphabetti Theatre
Pay What You Feel
Funded by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Alphabetti Theatre have commissioned the fantastic theatre maker, Izaak Gledhill to create a short piece of theatre in reaction to The Nurse’s Station, mentored by Louie Ingham.
Response Writing Competition Winner
24th – 26th September 2024
Straight after the performance of Nurse’s Station
Alphabetti Theatre
Pay What You Feel
Funded by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Alphabetti Theatre will be running a writing competition for writers to see their work professionally produced and they get paid. Watch Nurse's Station, then over a 1 week, write a 10-minute play for a chance to win £500 and have it professionally performed. Open to all writers over 16.
A huge thank you to our research partners Dominic Simpson, Assistant Professor of Nursing
and Dr. Sasha Ban, Deputy Head of Department Nursing Midwifery and Health, both from Northumbria University.
Extant in partnership with Alphabetti Theatre – presents Enhance
The Nurses Station by Ali Pritchard & Ruth Lyon
Visually impaired access has been created for this show post-production, devised by an Extant visually impaired facilitator. This is not audio description, but instead an ‘enhanced’ way of providing access that has been tried and tested by Extant.
We invite visually impaired audiences to come along and experience the programme notes and touch tour before the show beginning at 6.30pm. The notes encapsulate the visual aspects of the show and are written with access for visually impaired audiences at the core. The Touch Tour offers exploration of set, props and costume: offering an immersive space in which to imagine the work before the show begins.
‘Very descriptive and it allowed me to create a visual picture in my head.’
Extant Enhance 2023-26 is funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Arts Council England.
