What does a 16-year-old do when he finds out he is to become a dad? Alfie, superbly played by Ryan Nolan, discovers this when about to take his GCSEs. He begins to tell you of his relationship with the girl of his dreams, Becky and takes you through his journey to becoming a young dad.
While in a traumatic situation, he is overjoyed at the prospect of becoming a father. The story is full of pathos, drama, emotion and humour; while relating his family background, he tells of how his mam is called ‘wor Sandra’, "now that’s a proper mam's name”. For a lad whose life mainly revolves around drinking cans of Monster—I did not know there were that many flavours—things certainly change.
It is hard to say this is a one-man show, as the whole team is solid throughout, from the simple, effective set by Aileen Kelly, excellent sound by Jayne Dent, convincing lighting and strong directing by Jonah York. However, it is Nolan who captures you from the moment he is lit, going through a wide range of emotions, accents and characters with ease and aplomb. One instantly connects with him, is drawn into his life and comes to empathise and feel for him. No matter how good the text, and this is, it needs a good actor to deliver it and Nolan does, holding you every second of the seventy minutes, a true tour de force.
The piece is co-written by Dr Michael Richardson and Jonah York. Richardson began his degrees in 2006 at Newcastle University where he is now a senior lecturer in geography. York, a community artist, actor and director, originally from Brighton, is based in Newcastle. It is an amalgamation of stories from a selection of the young fathers they meet at the charity The North East Young Dads and Lads, of which Richardson was a trustee from 2018–2022. Both writers have spent time over the last three years working in various capacities for the charity, which inspired them to write this piece in collaboration with the young dads.
The charity, NEYDL, was set up in 2015 to see what could be done to support young dads in the North East of England. At least 50 a year are helped, gaining a better understanding of the difficulties young fathers face. If you know of anyone who might benefit from them, they have a web site: NEYDL. As with most parents who are proud of their children, they wish the best for them. This is Dr Richardson and York’s baby and they should be justly proud of it.
I wish them well with their baby and hope it goes on to have a full life—it certainly deserves to. If and when it returns, go and see it, for as the packed house standing ovation will confirm, you will not be disappointed.