Alison Mead trained at Rose Bruford College and began her acting career at Harrogate Rep. Early work consisted of national tours; summer seasons on the south coast and a short spell at the Young Vic. A move to Leeds enabled her to acquire various TV credits including the schools series of “How We Used to Live” and the popular drama series “The Main Chance” and a thirty minute drama "Jill and Jack" by John Osborne.

 

After moving back to South East London, Alison began a degree course and, when the opportunity to teach drama at a local school came up, she started her second career entirely by accident. But as with all accidents, it proved to be a fruitful and enjoyable experience for the next fifteen years. Alison started directing productions at this time in schools and colleges, one of which reached the National Theatre as part of the Theatre Challenge scheme which still runs today.

 

But the lure of performance had never quite left her and after much debate and indecision, she resigned from her College post, found a new agent, re-joined Equity, the actors Union and returned to “the Biz”.

 

Details of her career to date can be found via the Acting page.

 

As a director, Alison has been responsible for a wide variety of productions from Shakespeare at the South Bank to Checkhov at the Churchill Theatre Bromley.

After a few years, roles for older women were drying up so Alison turned her hand to writing for the stage and produced her own work in her newly formed company three4alltheatre

 

Alison was Artistic Director of  Kent Coast Theatre which opened in September 2015 and focussed on the community in Kent where she lived until 2018. KCT  produced its inaugural production "Animal Farm"  in summer 2016 at the Horsebridge Arts Centre.

The following year a trilogy of new writing was produced in Faversham at The Arden Theatre and  open air performances at Whitstable Castle.

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 Her play “Politic Man” was performed at The Ugly Duck creative space in Bermondsey where the play is set in December 2016  and then toured various spaces in South London in January of the following  year. Recently it has been shortlisted for performance by Matchstick Theatre in Deptford South East London.

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Since then she has written two more; the latest "Under God's Arm" was given a rehearsed reading at the Drayton Arms Theatre in November 2019.

Since lockdown, two plays The Understudy Play and Under God's Arm have been broadcast  on Zoom 

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The whole picture of Alison’s work can be found in more detail in all of these pages. She says "The great thing about the creative life is that all things inform each other and nothing is ever wasted."

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