Alexandra Taylor: Writer

I never see myself portrayed on TV. In fact, I rarely see characters like my friends or family, or the worlds I inhabit, on screen. And that's OK. I'll happily watch dramas about lawyers or aliens or Russian nuclear disasters. But the stories and characters that really hit home, that take over my head and my heart to the point where I'm heading to online discussion forums, reading the scrips, watching YouTube interviews with the writers, even penning my own fan fiction - those are the ones with worlds and characters that I know, that I've met, that I understand and relate to. It just happens so rarely that when it does it hits me like a sledgehammer. The first time I remember feeling that punch was with Queer As Folk. I knew people like that, I understood that world. The bars, bitchiness and hedonism of Manchester's Canal Street reflected my own experiences of Birmingham's gay village. I was seeing an aspect of my life portrayed on screen for the first ...

If you enjoy my writing, then now is the time to help support my work, in one of three ways. 1. Contribute to the fundraiser for my short anti-Brexit film, Taking Back Control:  https://www.gofundme.com/qy6g29-taking-back-control 2. Buy a ticket to the Raving Pink Panto, an LGBT version of Cinderella that I co-wrote, and that is raising money for Animal Free Research (you can just make a donation):  https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jane-mckears2 3. Share these links. Thank you!

My short, Brexit-themed play was performed as part of Deadman's New Writing Night at the Mockingbird in the Custard Factory on Monday 29th January 2018. You can listen to an audio recording on my website .

My sitcom was given a rehearsed reading. You can watch the video here .

A short film I wrote has now been released on the world! Watch it here:  https://vimeo.com/224860339

On 2nd May 2017 my short play 'Cake' was performed at the Birmingham REP. You can listen to an audio recording here . 

Moseley writer Tim Stimpson has had an amazing twelve months. He’s played a major part in the ground-breaking, headline-grabbing Rob and Helen storyline on the Archers, which led to an Outstanding Contribution award for the soap at this year’s BBC Audio Drama Awards. And now, after fourteen years in Ambridge, he’s turning his hand to another much-loved, but very different British soap, EastEnders. Tim came to Birmingham University in 1998, where then-Editor of the Archers, Vanessa Whitburn taught a module. Her advice was to “pester someone who can help you”, and Tim took her at her word, pestering her into giving him work experience on the show, then invitations to script meetings then opportunities to write trial scripts. His persistence paid off and in 2003 he was asked to be a part of the Archers writing team, where he’s been ever since. In contrast, Tim’s move to EastEnders was a lot less calculated. In 2016 Sean O’Connor, the then-Editor of the Archers, took over the helm...

Bassist John Dalton played his first live gig with The Kinks on York Road in Kings Heath in 1966. Fifty years later he’s returning with The Kast Off Kinks to bring the band’s hits back to Birmingham. But this time round it’ll be a very different experience for John. “Back then it happened so quickly,” he explains. “I met the band on Thursday, had Friday to learn the music and then played with them on Saturday night. I didn’t know any Kinks songs before that, but the set was only about thirty minutes so I just about got through it! Nowadays we normally play for around two hours and we obviously know the numbers really well.” John is also no stranger to Birmingham. “My dad’s family lived in Balsall Heath and I used to spend my summer holidays there. We went to the Lickey Hills, Cannon Hill Park and saw the cricket at Edgbaston. It was really nice to be coming back to play.” John toured the world with the Kinks for seven years at the height of their fame and, after a long and...

Winterbourne House and Garden is a haven of tranquility, tucked away between the Bristol Road and Birmingham University, where you can escape the stress of city life to take a leisurely stroll around the Edwardian villa and its grounds. The estate was bequeathed to Birmingham University in 1944 and students still come down to collect samples from the extensive botanical collections. As well as the 1903 Arts and Crafts house packed full of antiques, a botanic garden with over 6000 plant species, a woodland walk, a hazelnut tunnel and a 1930s Japanese bridge, there are a wide range of activities for the inquisitive and adventurous of all ages. Inside the house are interactive exhibitions which tell the fascinating story of the estate and the people who lived there, including Margaret Nettlefold, who designed the Grade II listed garden. The family firm, GKN, was once the largest screw, nut and bolt manufacturer in the world. Occasional free tours (check in advance for days an...

“Parks for Play started over ten years ago,” explains Laura Watts. “I was involved with Dens of Equality, which promotes inclusion through leisure, learning and play. A group of local parents with children on the autism spectrum were having problems accessing existing leisure services and asked us to set something up with them. We began with play schemes in the community and within two years we were running sessions in Kings Heath Park.” Inclusivity is at the heart of what they do. “Everyone is on wheels at some point in their life. If you design something around those with the greatest need, it works for everyone. It’s about making sure no one is excluded.” Laura tells me that 40% of parents with disabled children are single, compared to the national average for all children of 25%. They need reliable, consistent support services to enable them to go to work. As well as holiday play schemes and outreach programmes, Parks for Play runs the only specialised after school club in...