Nursing academics co-produce new play with Alphabetti Theatre

Two nursing academics from Northumbria University have joined forces with the award-winning Alphabetti Theatre to produce a new musical using real-life stories and experiences of working in nursing. 

The Nurse’s Station which is showing at Alphabetti Theatre in Newcastle until Saturday 28 September, captures the vibrant hive of the nurse’s station and the array of experiences that can happen in a 12-hour shift. 

A celebration of enduring spirit and dedication, told through dark humour and enrapturing songs, the musical was co-created between Dominic Simpson and Dr Sasha Ban from the University’s Department of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, together with director and founder of Alphabetti Theatre, Ali Pritchard and writer and composer, Ruth Lyon. 

It follows two characters: a newly qualified nurse working alongside an experienced night shift nurse, and includes tales of joy, sadness, love and loss.      

Dominic and Sasha acted as research partners for the Alphabetti team, helping to inform the writing by providing real-life stories to support the creative development of the play.    

Dominic said: “Together with the team at Alphabetti Theatre we’ve worked hard to provide a play that is based on the real-life experiences of those who’ve worked in hospitals at a nurse’s station and bring to life all the highs and lows that go with that. 

“It’s been a great experience working on The Nurse’s Station and it’s been amazing to hear all the positive feedback we’ve had so far.”  

The play received a four-star review from The Stage which described it as a “big-hearted show laced with humour and charm” which “feels steeped in veracity”. 

The show is written and directed by Alphabetti Theatre’s artistic director Ali Pritchard and features original songs spanning a mass of genres, written by Newcastle folk icon Ruth Lyon. Ali is a graduate of Northumbria’s Drama and Scriptwriting degree and was named as one of the rising stars of the UK theatre industry in 2023 by The Stage.  

For more information about the play, or to book, visit the Alphabetti Theatre website. 

The play also formed part of the schedule of the Royal College of Nursing’s 2024 International Nursing Research Conference which was recently hosted at Northumbria University. The event saw hundreds of nurses from across the UK come together to discuss improvements to nursing practice through learning, network and discuss the challenges facing the future nursing workforce.