On The Table Read Magazine, “the best entertainment eBook magazine UK“, My Name is Tom is a gripping new play that exposes the raw realities of teenage life in a digital world, sparking vital conversations about relationships, mental health, and the urgent need for drama education reform.
My Name Is Tom

In a world where smartphones, social media, and academic pressures dominate, My Name is Tom, a powerful new play script by Alan Spence, offers a raw and unflinching look at the challenges facing today’s teenagers.
Set to be published on August 21, 2025, this timely drama, set in North London, follows the emotional journey of Paris and Darnell, two young people navigating love, peer pressure, and the darker corners of a hyper-connected world. Far more than a coming-of-age story, My Name is Tom confronts issues like sexting, teenage pregnancy, and the alarming rise in young people consuming pornography, while highlighting the silence of adults too often distracted by their own lives.
At its heart, My Name is Tom is a love story between Paris, a bold and determined teenager, and Darnell, who is too shy to notice her interest at first. When they finally connect, their relationship becomes the talk of their North London community—but not all the chatter is kind. A weekend party, meant to be a romantic escape from the grind of A-Level revision, spirals into chaos, exposing Paris, Darnell, and others to the harsh realities of their choices in a digital world. Set in 2011, the play’s themes remain strikingly relevant, reflecting the ongoing struggles of young people today.
The narrative doesn’t shy away from the dangers teenagers face, from peer pressure to the devastating rise in “sextortion”—a growing cause of youth suicides, particularly among young men. Spence’s script serves as both a mirror to society and a call to action, urging educators, parents, and communities to confront these issues head-on.

More Than a Play: A Catalyst for Change
My Name is Tom is a multi-faceted project designed to spark critical discussions about sex, relationships, and emotional well-being. The handbook, aimed at schools, colleges, youth theatres, and community groups, includes a 50-minute script, full production details, and educational materials. It also features a historical overview of schooling, sex education, and drama in the curriculum from the 1960s to today, alongside interviews with leading professionals like Vicky Ireland, Dr. Geoff Readman, and John Berry. A powerful testimony advocating for a National Plan for Drama and Theatre Education underscores the play’s mission to reinvigorate drama as a tool for addressing societal challenges.
Spence envisions a four-part educational and creative programme, including workshops, school tours, and collaborations with institutions to bring My Name is Tom into classrooms and theatres nationwide. The play, which premiered in Enfield, North London, in January 2016, resonates even more today as government initiatives continue to fall short in providing effective Relationships, Sex, and Health Education (RSHE). Drawing on guidance from organizations like the Sex Education Forum, Oak National Academy, and the United Nations, the handbook offers practical solutions to support young people’s emotional well-being.

A Play for Students and Society

My Name is Tom appeals to GCSE and A-Level students of Drama, Theatre, History, Sociology, Politics, Economics, and English, offering a rich resource for exploring contemporary issues through performance and discussion. By placing teenage relationships under the microscope, the play fosters empathy, encourages critical thinking, and highlights the consequences of adult disengagement in a tech-driven world. It challenges pupils, parents, caregivers, and educators to bridge the gap between generations and address the silent struggles of today’s youth.
About the Author: Alan Spence
Alan Spence, born in South Bank, Middlesbrough, brings a wealth of experience to My Name is Tom. After overcoming early setbacks, including failing the 11+ and facing redundancy from British Steel in 1980, Spence pursued a BEd in Drama and History at Middlesex Polytechnic, followed by an MA in Film and Television from London University. With 25 years as a drama teacher, head of department, and GCSE/A-Level examiner, he also ran his own theatre company, Theatre is Real Life, from 2009 to 2018. A member of the Society of Authors, National Drama, and the Drama and Theatre Education Alliance, Spence joined the board of Printers Playhouse in Eastbourne in 2025, where he serves as a drama tutor and community choir member.
My Name is Tom is Spence’s third published play, following The BORO’s 37mins (2022) and Nowt Like This in America (2023). He is currently working on Epilogue, a sequel to Nowt Like This in America, and a one-person play about Hamish Mann, a Black Watch officer, playwright, and poet who died in World War I.
A Call to Action
My Name is Tom is more than a play—it’s a rallying cry for meaningful change in how we address the emotional and social challenges facing young people. By shining a light on the dangers of a digital world and the power of drama education, Spence’s work invites us all to listen, engage, and act. As the play prepares to reach schools and theatres across the UK, it promises to spark vital conversations and inspire solutions for a generation caught between screens and silence.
Find more from Alan Spence now:
MY NAME IS TOM: THE EDUCATION PROJECT FOR SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, YOUTH THEATRES AND COMMUNITY GROUPS.
https://nowmeetthewriteralanspence.blogspot.com/2025/07/my-name-is-tom-education-project-for.html
We strive to keep The Table Read free for both our readers and our contributors. If you have enjoyed our work, please consider donating to help keep The Table Read going!
4 comments
Comments are closed.

jpgiwg
ex5zfp
winstrol strength
References:
gitea.abra.me
A evaluate of the research suggests that about 32 % of folks that misuse
anabolic steroids turn out to be dependent 43. Symptoms of
dependence can include tolerance, which is needing to take more steroids to achieve the same results.
One Other indicator of dependence is withdrawal as quickly as anabolic steroid
use stops forty two.
Post-mortem plays a pivotal position within the study of AAS opposed results and organ harm related to their
use/abuse. Furthermore, autopsy research may present useful info concerning the pathophysiology of the results of
AAS long-term administration, subsequently autopsy practice must be applied in suspected AASs-related deaths.
Postmenopausal ladies receiving 50 mg nandrolone decanoate each 4 weeks for a yr, superimposed on hormonal alternative remedy (HRT; 2 mg estradiol daily), reported more voice complaints than those receiving HRT only (220).
Objectively, there was a lack of excessive frequencies and a lower imply frequency during speech, as well as elevated voice creakiness and instability as assessed by a speech pathologist.
Laryngoscopic findings confirmed no variations between teams with
regard to oedema of the vocal cords and laryngitis.
Nevertheless, earlier reports do note oedema and hyperaemia shortly after beginning AAS administration, however subsiding afterwards.
Corroborating these findings, a dose- and concentration-dependent decrease in average voice
pitch was found in ladies who had undergone a hysterectomy with or without oophorectomy
and were randomized to 0, three, 6.25, 12.5 or 25 mg testosterone enanthate
weekly for 24 weeks (221).
And much like how the Celsius scale makes use of the freezing and boiling point of
water (0 and a hundred degrees respectively) as the standard, this technique would utilize Testosterone as the usual by which all different anabolic steroids could be measured
to. In the case of orally administered anabolic steroids, Methyltestosterone would be
the standard. This system concerned the administration of anabolic steroids on rats,
either orally or by injection (depending on the anabolic steroid being assessed).
Insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) is a peptidase that complexes with
and catabolizes Aβ (Kurochkin and Goto, 1994).
If the patient is nonetheless unwilling to stop, physicians may consider remedy to cut back hurt, as is
customary in the method and remedy of, for example, smokers and alcoholics.
In 1953, a testosterone-derived steroid often known as
norethandrolone (17α-ethyl-19-nortestosterone) was synthesized at G.
For these patients, the author has prescribed intramuscular testosterone
at dosages of as much as twice the standard alternative dosage
with a taper to a physiological dosage over a quantity of months.
With this method, the affected person avoids severe AAS withdrawal symptoms and the uncertain safety of AASs purchased over the internet and
other unregulated sources. In addition, the clinician builds a relationship with the patient that
facilitates safety monitoring and attainable eventual discontinuation of AASs.
Eventually, if different causes of hypogonadism have been explored, testosterone levels stay unequivocally low and there’s no need to have kids, testosterone substitution could be started under the same
agreements as acknowledged previously. If the affected person plans a steroid
cycle in the close to future, checking blood may not
be useful because the ranges shall be disrupted shortly afterwards.
The advice we are going to give subsequently is predicated on our expertise with
AAS abusers over the past 10 years who presented with well being issues.
The expression of MHC mRNA was considerably downregulated in grownup male Wistar rats only when METH administration was mixed with an train situation (27).
METH administration induced no change in Pax7 expression in grownup male
Wistar rats (27). METH administration significantly upregulated FSTN in grownup male
Wistar rats (27, 32).
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a gaggle of autosomal recessive disorders encompassing enzyme deficiencies within the
adrenal steroidogenesis pathway that result in impaired cortisol
biosynthesis (Merke and Bornstein, 2005). The majority of the circumstances of CAH are
because of 21-hydroxylase deficiency which is characterized by impaired cortisol and
aldosterone production, and excessive production of androgens.
Given that androgens promote lean mass and muscle power, it is conceivable that women with CAH
may need a competitive edge over their healthy counterparts.
As knowledge are lacking on muscle performance in adult women with CAH, no firm conclusions can be drawn from
these data in youngsters.
Given that 12% of subjects reported use of hCG on-cycle, and hCG can protect some spermatogenesis throughout gonadotropin suppression (185), a barely lower fraction of males may need developed azoo- or oligozoospermia on this research than expected.
A few stories within the literature have linked AAS use to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) (169–171).
FSGS is a histopathological discovering marked by glomerular lesions,
mediated by diverse insults directed to, or inherent inside, the podocytes (172).
Herlitz et al. were the first to current a case series of 9 sufferers who developed FSGS after prolonged
AAS use (169). A tenth patient described of their publication had no discrete lesions of segmental sclerosis however did
have glomerulomegaly. All patients offered with proteinuria (mean 10.1 g/d;
vary 1.3–26.three g/d) and all but one presented with elevated serum creatinine ranges
(mean 265.3 μmol/L (3.0 mg/dL); range a hundred and
fifteen.0–689.7 μmol/L (1.3–7.8 mg/dL)). Mean physique mass index (BMI)
was 34.7 kg/m2, with all however one of the patients having a BMI of ≥30 kg/m2.
Male sample baldness and acne-type skin situations are
certainly two attainable side effects of anabolic steroid use.
Of the 2, acne is taken into account the more common facet impact,
with baldness being at greater threat in case your male ancestors handed on baldness
genes. By stacking compounds, you’re overlaying your bulking needs from a quantity of angles and guaranteeing
gaps are filled by benefiting from the completely different properties and effects
of two or three completely different steroids. Below are
three examples of one of the best stacks to achieve immense positive aspects
in mass and power using the most effective mixture of
steroids on the correct doses. The hormone enters
the bloodstream a lot quicker than large ester steroids,
so your blood levels of one or more steroids
will reach optimum ranges quickly. This fast action also
means the compounds leave the body rapidly, so when the cycle is finished, you presumably can promptly take care of any drop in pure testosterone.
Expect to wait about 2 to 3 weeks for the consequences of the testosterone
to kick in; then, you’ll see a notable enhance in strength and
well-being, plus a number of the antagonistic results like attainable acne.
These issues underscore the need for increased surveillance; and training and awareness among the many medical community, sports activities neighborhood and lay
public. 5α-reductase deficiency, a forty six, XY DSD, is an autosomal
recessive situation during which 46, XY sufferers with bilateral functioning testes and regular
testosterone production have impairment in virilization during embryogenesis as a end result of defective conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
Although the degree of virilization of the exterior genitalia
is variable, regular masculinization of muscles is seen at puberty.
Development in imaging together with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and additional diagnostic testing have facilitated the identification of AAS-induced left ventricular dysfunction, however knowledge regarding the impression on proper ventricular function stays limited.
Rising studies showed conflicting information regarding the reversibility of AAS-induced
cardiomyopathy. There is an unmet need for a scientific long-term outcomes study to empirically
evaluate the medical course of cardiomyopathy and to assess potential targeted
remedy as applicable. In this review, we offer an overview of the epidemiology,
pathophysiology and administration issues associated to AAS and cardiomyopathy.
From 1965 to 1989, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) carried out a scientific doping program
where they administered AAS to elite athletes competing within the Olympic
Games (Fitch, 2008; Franke and Berendonk, 1997). Proof relating to the efficiency enhancing results of AAS in elite
competitive sports activities comes from the release of several categorized government paperwork after the unification of Germany in 1990.
Evaluate of scientific reviews, secret doctoral theses and
courtroom paperwork from 1966 onwards revealed
that tons of of physicians and scientists had been concerned in doping research and have been designated
as “unofficial collaborators” of the Ministry for State Security.
References:
Στάδια της κυκλοφορίας με Dianabol