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edsamuelcole.bsky.social
ed cole
@edsamuelcole.bsky.social
420 followers 270 following 55 posts
artistic director of alphabetti theatre
co-founder of middle child theatre
contributor to true faith fanzine
he/him
⚫️⚪️
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by ed cole
tomusher.bsky.social
Not that anything matters anymore but just on a personal level that mid 2010s period where these people got to feel like staunch antiracists by opposing the only viable left wing alternative to the shitshow we’re facing now was some of the most galling stuff I’ve ever lived through
November 28, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by ed cole
mobydickatsea.bsky.social
So on I went.
November 20, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Reposted by ed cole
jameskettle.bsky.social
Hi Lisa Nandy! I’m a BAFTA winner from a small town. Instead of asinine questions like this, why not tell us how we can continue to make a living in the eviscerated creative sector over which you notionally preside?
October 31, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Reposted by ed cole
sojo.net
Even the most dramatic displays of defiance can sometimes carry less impact than the humbler acts of protection and preparation, writes Georgia Coley.
sojo.net/articles/cul...
‘One Battle After Another’ Shows Christians How to ‘Work for the Peace of the City’
In Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, the best way to fight an endless series of battles is to play smart defense. Churches should take note.
sojo.net
October 7, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by ed cole
alphabettitheatre.bsky.social
Want to join the best team in the world? We're hiring for a casual supervisor! If you think you fit the bill you can find out more and apply now via our website
www.alphabettitheatre.co.uk/jobs
October 16, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by ed cole
theatreweekly.com
Award-winning Hull-based theatre company Silent Uproar Productions brings a bold new production to stages across the North of England this May and June
Shit Life Crisis – Silent Uproar’s Karaoke Play About Survival Tours the North
Award-winning Hull-based theatre company Silent Uproar Productions brings a bold new production to stages across the North of England this May and June
theatreweekly.com
May 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Reposted by ed cole
alphabettitheatre.bsky.social
A wonderful preview of our newest production with Albatross Arts, Grounded. Check it out!
www.theatrevillage.co.uk/grounded-at-...
Grounded At Alphabetti Theatre This May - Theatre Village
Theatre Village provides interviews, reviews, news about all things related to UK Independent Theatre. Visit us and be inspired.
www.theatrevillage.co.uk
May 8, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Reposted by ed cole
hassfacultyncl.bsky.social
🎭A new play co-funded by @ukri.org and written by Dr Ruth Raynor and Karen Underhill will be performed at @alphabettitheatre.bsky.social between 21 and 24 May. @albatrossarts.bsky.social

'Grounded' is an exploration of grief during COVID-19 >> bit.ly/4k4HW42
Play Grounded explores grief during Covid-19
A play written by a Newcastle University academic and based on real life experiences during Covid-19 is to be performed at the Alphabetti Theatre.
bit.ly
May 7, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Reposted by ed cole
geordioca.bsky.social
There's your match report. On the money as always.
#nufc

open.substack.com/pub/tf1892/p...
TF Match Report - Brighton and Hove Albion 1-1 Newcastle Utd
A meh match at a meh stadium with a meh result... Ed has your match report, sponsored by Amex
open.substack.com
May 4, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Reposted by ed cole
alphabettitheatre.bsky.social
#DogsOnTheMetro is running @livetheatre.bsky.social until Saturday 17th, have you got your tickets yet? Here's our very own bar dog Robin to help us wish the whole team best of luck for the run!
May 2, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Reposted by ed cole
middlechildhull.bsky.social
T'is official. We can now call ourselves a resident company of @nationaltheatre.org.uk 😀 www.middlechildtheatre.co.uk/news/middle-...
A split screen image of the National Theatre in London and a wedding play by Middle Child. Text says Middle Child, resident company of the National Theatre.
April 30, 2025 at 8:15 AM
edsamuelcole.bsky.social
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/news/the-nex...

Very exciting news for @middlechildhull.bsky.social - immensely proud of the whole team. Can’t wait to see what comes from this.
The Next chapter | National Theatre
Inspired by our rich past and excited by the future, Indhu announces a new artistic vision to bring the world to the National Theatre and take the National Theatre to the world.
www.nationaltheatre.org.uk
April 30, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Reposted by ed cole
tfmick1892.bsky.social
Ed Cole on #NUFC getting back to winning ways v Ipswich at SJP to keep us in the race for Champions League football next season - another great match report from TRUE FAITH - tf1892.substack.com/p/tf-match-r...
TF Match Report - Newcastle Utd 3-0 Ipswich Town
Crunch time in the Premier League as the Mags take another small step back towards Europe's elite competition. Ed Cole was in the stands.
tf1892.substack.com
April 27, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Reposted by ed cole
infinitescream.bsky.social
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
April 18, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Reposted by ed cole
evenicol.bsky.social
Well, at least it's kinda comforting to KNOW that what we feel is FACTUAL. Detail about new, drama studio shows particularly heartbreaking to reflect on what's gone extinct www.bbc.com/news/article...
Big drop in plays staged by theatres over past decade
The number of plays and musicals staged by the UK's main subsidised theatres is down by almost a third.
www.bbc.com
April 15, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Reposted by ed cole
tfmick1892.bsky.social
THE SPECIAL - TRUE FAITH’s matchday newsletter plus a lot more - no ads, pop ups or clickbait shite - just a v good read - Ed Cole in the big chair for TF today -

tf1892.substack.com/p/the-specia... #NUFC
THE SPECIAL - Man U at home
Newcastle United v Man Utd, St James' Park, 13/Apr/25, KO:16:30, Premier League.
tf1892.substack.com
April 13, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Reposted by ed cole
livetheatre.bsky.social
Last night saw the return of the extraordinary & compelling @penguinbyhamzeh.bsky.social from Hamzeh Al Hussien - receiving a well deserved standing ovation for its 1st performance back! You've got until this Sat 12 Apr to catch it! Book asap at www.live.org.uk/whats-on/pen...
April 10, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Reposted by ed cole
middlechildhull.bsky.social
“Find a play. Squat a building. Steal a van. Now make a show.”

Thank you, Mike Bradwell ❤️
Portrait of Mike Bradwell with text that says 1948-2025 “Find a play. Squat a building. Steal a van. Now make a show.” - Thank you, Mike Bradwell As we begin rehearsals for our new show Biting Point, in our 14th year as a company, we are saddened to hear of the passing of Mike Bradwell: a cavalier, a pioneer and an accidental founding father of Middle Child. I didn’t know Mike personally, but first met him while training at LAMDA, when he came to speak to the four directors on my course. This was just after the release of his brilliantly provocative article challenging aspiring theatre makers to: “Find a play. Squat a Building. Steal a van. Now make a show.” I’ve just gone back to that article and it could easily have been published today, such was its prescience in its prediction that times were hard and getting harder for the industry, and its reliance on West End musicals and celebrity casting. Mike was clear that, for the health of the industry, it desperately needed people to break from the usual route and do their own thing – much as Mike had done in the founding of Hull Truck Theatre, many years earlier. I didn’t steal a van that day, but following our chat, I did find myself motivated like never before. Something really resonated from Mike’s fearless, DIY energy that said we didn’t have to ask permission and wait for a seat at the table. I went straight to the nearest pub and, with the help of those who would become our founding members, began drafting a manifesto for the company that is Middle Child. Something permanently shifted for me that day. Mike’s way of making theatre using real-world improvisations – literally using the world around you as inspiration and shaping it into something live and alive – struck a chord. He was everything I’d always wanted to be - fearless, unique and completely unafraid to do things differently. Within months, his ethos became the foundation of Middle Child. We read everything we could of his, desperate to understand how it all worked and leaning into his trademark style. Sometimes perhaps leaning a bit too hard. In our first week in Hull, we took his revolutionary improvisation methods to heart and found ourselves sat in the back of a police van, after accidentally locking Princes Avenue down with armed police. More on that one day, I’m sure. Turns out blurring the lines between real life and performance should be handled with care, though I’m sure Mike and his troupe saw the inside of many police vans in their day. But we’d made a start. Thanks to a few hours spent with Mike, we felt we had the permission to spend a lifetime doing it our way. Mike Bradwell’s legacy is massive, particularly on the city we call home. He founded Hull Truck Theatre, the story of which you can read more of in his brilliant book The Reluctant Escapologist, championed new writing and new methods, and showed generations of theatre makers that rules are made to be rewritten. For Middle Child, his words weren’t just inspiration – they were the match that lit the fuse. So thank you, Mike. For the spark. For provoking us to do things differently. For showing us that theatre can be bold, messy, and defiantly human. Theatre needs voices that are unafraid to take risks and stand out from the crowd more than ever. Voices like yours. We never ended up stealing a van (still time?), but we did make some art. And we definitely wouldn’t have, without you. Paul Smith, Artistic Director and CEO
April 8, 2025 at 10:56 AM
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mobydickatsea.bsky.social
disinterested and benevolent
April 5, 2025 at 8:48 AM
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piercepenniless.bsky.social
I wrote about the raid on the Quaker meeting house for the paper.
March 31, 2025 at 3:09 PM
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livetheatre.bsky.social
Our next #LiveWrites showcase of 4 short new plays takes place tomorrow Tue 1 Apr, 7.30pm. The panel giving feedback for this event is @edsamuelcole.bsky.social Christina Berriman Dawson & Roxy McKenna. Tickets £8-£6. Find out more & book at www.live.org.uk/whats-on/liv...
Live Writes Spring
Live Writes
www.live.org.uk
March 31, 2025 at 11:18 AM
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tfmick1892.bsky.social
Okay Wembley again … this time Ed Cole gives us a superb recollection of watching the match in NE1 with his childhood Mag mate as a city explodes with joy -

tf1892.substack.com/p/cup-final-... #NUFC
Cup Final Day - Report from the Home Front
What's that? No articles about our glorious Cup triumph for at least 36 hours? Here's Ed putting that wrong right.
tf1892.substack.com
March 27, 2025 at 7:13 AM
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yousef-1892.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/tf1892/p...
WE FUCKING WON IT!!
TF Match Report: NUFC 2-1 Liverpool. Stephen has your report on the 9pm out of King's Cross
open.substack.com
March 21, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Reposted by ed cole
andraswf.bsky.social
This is the nightmare of commissioners: they simply don't know what will be a hit. And now everything has to be high-budget, they risk it all all the time. Bring back small budget stuff, allow more risks
stephenmcgann.uk Stephen McGann @stephenmcgann.uk · Mar 19
A few points resonate. We need many different 'facets' to drama output - not just procedural crime or 'twisty' tropes. Genre-driven commissioning has become so narrow. Also, the next hit never resembles the last one. Don't just make another 'Adolescence' - make your own thing good, and mean it.
March 19, 2025 at 10:33 AM