Welcome to Our Town!

THE young writers of Our Town with their three mentors... (back row) Shai Hussain, Sarah Nelson, Caitlin O’Ryan, Sam Glen, Matthew Adamson, Chris Salt, (front row) Amy Clohessy, Thomas Flynn, Caragh Aylett and Eliot Salt

First came Weatherfield, then Walford, now there’s... Millwood

THE first virtual soap in the country is based here in Oldham.

Our Town — a unique social media interactive exercise run by Oldham Theatre Workshop — is set in the fictional suburb of Millwood.

Seven young writers, who are being paid to undertake the ongoing task, have created 16 characters who represent what Oldham is like as a town.

The characters will be interacting with real-life Oldham agencies to work through a number of themes including cyber bullying and the stigma attached to young people with mental health problems or disabilities.

The soap features an explosive storyline on Friday which it hopes willwill introduce Our Town to a wider audience.

Some of the characters — who use Twitter accounts to interact with each other — already have well over 1,000 followers, some from as far away as China.

A Facebook page and a website have also been set up, allowing people to follow what is happening in the soap.

The characters are also using Youtube to post their video blogs.

Craig Harris, from the theatre workshop, who leads the creation, said: “Not only is this the first time this has ever been done, it’s also a brilliant opportunity for our young writers to be involved in something like this.

“It’s like a voyeuristic Big Brother thing not just about spending time looking on computers and phones, it’s much more interesting than that — the public can interact with the characters and comment on what is happening.

“We will also be staging real events in Oldham that people can go to and watch real drama unfold before their eyes.”

The idea for Our Town came about after a social media exercise called The Wedding, in which an audience was able to interact with the actors at a wedding and the reception.

They also got to see a number of flash mob-style drama events.

Every character on Twitter has an Our Town logo and disclaimer on their Twitter profile.




Meet the cast



OUR Town follows the lives of a diverse group of fictional characters living in and around the fictional suburb of Millwood.



Their stories unfold daily via a range of social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter.

Follow the characters’ lives through texts, videos, photos and live events staged in Oldham.



Here are the characters you need to follow:



Alice Barlow (date of birth 12/9/1995)

Address: 4 Millbrook Crescent, Millwood

Alice is 16 and lives with her parents. She is an only child, born in Oldham. She doesn’t have any pets and isn’t in a relationship right now. She describes herself as imaginative, but insecure. She enjoys blogging, writing diaries, and doesn’t like school.

Character writer on Twitter: Caragh Aylett



Alison Piper (2/1/1993)

Address: Flat 3, Millwood Road, Millwood

Alison is 19 and is a receptionist at mum Barbara’s hair salon, who she lives with. She’s rather quiet and has pretty low self-esteem. She enjoys social networking, YouTube and reality TV shows. She’s single at the moment after an on/off relationship with friend Jeff.

Character writer: Eliot Salt



Catherine Galvin ( 7/4/1995)

Address: 8 Millbrook Crescent, Millwood

17-year-old Catherine lives with her parents, brother and sister, and she’s a Catholic. She’s single and doesn’t have any children.

Character writer: Caitlin O’Ryan



Crystal Goulding (5/7/1996)

Address: 3 Mill View, Millwood

Crystal lives with her foster parents, Susan and Darren, in Millwood but was born in Stockport. She spends her weekends working in a hairdresser’s before letting her hair down when she goes out clubbing. She likes romantic films, and hates being a foster child. She’s very confident.

Character writer: Sam Glen



Ellis Riley (2/2/1986)

Address: 14 Millbank Close, Millwood

26-year-old Ellis is a soldier in the British Army. He doesn’t like being away from home, but when he is back he lives with his brother, Nathan. He describes himself as courageous, loyal and aggressive. He enjoys football and music.

Character writer: Matthew Adamson



Imani Khan (6/9/1993)

Address: 11 Mill View, Millwood

Imani is an 18-year-old Muslim who lives with her parents and younger sister, Lena, who is 12. She’s an assistant in a local clothes shop. She’s energetic and likes nothing more than dancing to music with her friends.

Character writer: Eliot Salt



Jessie Steel (1/5/1995)

Address: 15 Mill View, Millwood

Jessie is 16 and lives with her dad, step-mum and brothers Mark and Jason. She’s in a relationship, and says she conforms to society. She’s part of her local youth council and enjoys helping others.

Character writer: Amy Clohessy



Keiran Matthews (27/5/92)

Address: 8 Mill Bank Close, Millwood

Keiron works as a dishwasher, and enjoys cooking. He’s 19 and lives with his dad, dad’s girlfriend, Eileen, and his brother, Liam. He’s charming, very funny and enjoys not being in work.

Character writer: Caitlin O’Ryan



Louise Barrett (2/3/1987)

Address: Flat 5, Millwood Road, Millwood

Louise has studied at Preston University. The 24-year-old lives with her boyfriend, Aaron, and she has OCD. She loves cooking and cleaning but says her OCD gets in the way.

Character writer: Amy Clohessy



Luke Bramble ( 15/3/1994)

Address: 9 Mill Bank Close, Millwood

Luke is 17 and works in a factory. He doesn’t care about his appearance and lives with his mum, dad and baby sister, but dislikes dead-end family life. He gets easily frustrated, but enjoys politics and reading.

Character writer: Thomas Flynn



Phillipa Maxwell (14/2/1984)

Address: 4 Millbank Crescent, Millwood

Phillipa is 27 and lives with her only daughter, Poppy. She is a devoted mum but finds herself easily depressed. She enjoys working out at the gym, swimming and eating hot white chocolate. She hates being separated from her husband.

Character writer: Thomas Flynn



Raph Tomaszewski (6/6/1996)

Address: 3 Millbank Close, Millwood

Raph is of Polish descent, and lives with his mum, Kamila, and dad, Chris. He’s previously worked as a sports coach and he enjoys playing tennis. He like to watch movies but hates seeing people in pain. He’s 15.

Character writer: Caragh Aylett



Samuel ‘Sammy’ Godfrey (31/7/1993)

Address: 5 Mill View, Millwood

Samuel, nicknamed Sammy, studies at Oldham Sixth Form college. He’s 18, and lives with his mum, Cathy. He’s single, and describes himself as intelligent yet pretentious. He enjoys creative writing but doesn’t like where he lives.

Character writer: Matthew Adamson



William Green ( 11/9/1994)

Address: 2 Millbank Crescent, Millwood

19-year-old William lives with his mum, Kathryn, dad, Dennis, and brother, Jake. He’s intelligent, mature and hates having to hide his ambition. He likes science, singing and chocolate.

Character writer: Sam Glen