Drama of the Week 35d3s

The first in a darkly comic new series about women and space, from the award-winning author Naomi Wood, written for BBC Radio 4, From disassociating astronauts to zero-gravity threesomes, explorations of nothingness to space lust and Pokemon hunts, this brilliantly original series with a feminist twist is a savagely funny take on the near future of women and space. Today: It's 2034 , and on a mission to mine valuable minerals, one astronaut's struggle with reality puts her team at risk... Find all 5 episode on BBC Sounds. Reader: Julianna Jennings Writer: Naomi Wood is the author of three novels, including the award-winning Mrs Hemingway, and a short story collection, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things. She won the BBC National Short Story Award. Producer: Justine Willett

Thought-provoking winning drama by the inaugural Wales Writer in Residence award winner Rhiannon Boyle. Safe From Harm tells the frank and powerful story of Alys, a teacher and mother whose life unravels when a colleague is arrested for possessing indecent images of children. Unable to cope, Alys s a celibate paedophile in an attempt to better understand the danger they pose. Her primal urge to forever protect her children becomes so all consuming Alys slowly loses her grip on reality. Sian Reece-Williams (Hidden, Emerdale) plays Alys. The Wales Writer in Residence is a prestigious scheme, aimed at furthering a writer’s career across stage, sound and screen. It is a partnership between BBC Cymru Wales and National Theatre Wales, along with BBC Writersroom Wales, with the intention of ing new writing talent. Alys ….. Sian Reece-Williams Christian ….. Oliver Ryan Ianto ….. Sion Pritchard Mum ….. Rhian Morgan Tyler ….. Alfie Ford Taya ….. Nerys Stocks Kyden ….. Iolo Reynolds Sound design was by Catherine Robinson Safe From Harm was a BBC Writersroom Wales production Directed by Helen Perry

Gary Lilburn, Jane Whittenshaw , Georgia Henshaw and Jonathan Forbes star in Dostoevsky’s unsettling tale of revolution and betrayal. After years away from home, Nicholai Stavrogin returns to his old home town bringing with him the radical ‘free-thinkers’ of Petersburg, hell-bent on causing civil unrest. Dramatised by Melissa Murray. Stepan ..... Gary Lilburn Mrs Stavrogina ..... Jane Whittenshaw Nicholai ..... Joseph Arkley Pyotr ..... Jonathan Forbes Darya ..... Charlotte East Virginsky ..... Ian Dunnett Jr Krillov ..... Hasan Dixon Shatov ..... Stefan Adegbola Lisa ..... Cecilia Appiah Marya ..... Georgia Henshaw Written by Melissa Murray Directed by Carl Prekopp Produced by Marc Beeby and Anne Isger

On a quiet riverbank a boy meets a stranger going through a rough patch, as the two keep tabs on a controversial rewilding project. Written by Linda Cracknell Read by Andy Clark Producer: Eilidh McCreadie Linda Cracknell is a writer of fiction, narrative non-fiction and radio drama. Her work often combines travel and writing with a particular interest in landscapes, place and memory. Publications include essay collection and Radio 4 Book of the Week, "Doubling Back" and fiction "Call of the Undertow" and "The Other Side of Stone".

Two days after the worst break-up of her life, a council registrar has to officiate a wedding. A wedding unlike any she's ever been to. An original short story for radio by Charlotte Runcie, author of Salt on Your Tongue: Women and the Sea, and of a new novel, Bring the House Down. Writer: Charlotte Runcie Reader: Bettrys Jones Producer: Mair Bosworth A BBC Audio Bristol production for BBC Radio 4

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch train station. North Wales. Enid’s dead husband Oscar was famed for his quirky train announcements at the station. When, overnight, his recordings are replaced with automated announcements, Enid and 18-year-old station cafe assistant, Cadi, start a quiet protest, that soon becomes a lot louder... All Change at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is a comedy drama by Neil Williams (Good Morning, Yvette’s Nan, Radio 4), starring Siw Hughes and Angharad Phillips. Enid… Siw Hughes Cadi…. Angharad Phillips Wend… Lisa Zahra Oscar…. Richard Elfyn Cecil… Sion Pritchard Dylan… Luke Bailey Influencer/ Automated Train Announcer …. Kellie-Gwen Morgan Automated Voice in Spanish... Maria Claudia Perrone Writer… Neil Williams Sound Designer… Nigel Lewis Production Co-ordinator… Eleri McAuliffe Director/Producer…. Fay Lomas A BBC Audio Drama Wales Production.

The Film by Martin Jameson April 1945. A Ministry of Information army film crew enters Bergen-Belsen to record the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust that many were already refusing to believe. But faced with all this footage, the head of the unit - Sidney Bernstein, is overwhelmed. He needs to get a film out there as soon as possible, but how to do justice to such suffering? So he summons his friend Alfred Hitchcock from Hollywood. And Bernstein - who later establishes Granada Television - determines that together they can create an irrefutable cinematic testimony. Sidney Bernstein - Henry Goodman, Alfred Hitchcock - Jeremy Swift, Richard Crossman - Geoffrey Streatfeild, Mrs Haig - Fenella Woolgar, Secretary - Hamilton Berstock. Production Co-ordinator - Vicky Moseley, Sound Design - Sharon Hughes, Technical Producer - Peter Ringrose, Studio Manager - Alison Craig and Producer/ Director - Gary Brown. A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4. With grateful thanks to documentary film maker Jane Wells, daughter of Sidney Bernstein, who generously helped with the research for this drama.

By Rex Obano 1988. Margaret Thatcher is now in her third term as Prime Minister. Hopeton is lonely and frustrated, living at his friend's boxing gym while fighting to get Joy and his family back. Meanwhile Joy is fighting to build a new life with Dhiren, combining their differing cultures. Can both of them succeed in getting their life back? Joy ..... Cherrelle Skeete Hopeton ..... Solomon Israel Dhiren Patel ..... Vikash Bhai Duke/Waiter ..... David Webber Glory ..... Trinity Benjamin Gujarati woman/Customer ..... Chetna Pandya Job Centre Assistant/Boxer/Store Manager ..... Lloyd Thomas Production Co-ordinators are Maggie Olgiati and Jenny Mendez Produced by Pat Cumper Directed by Anthony Simpson-Pike A BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Radio 4 ***** Faith, Hope and Glory began following the lives of Hope, Faith (Eunice) and Gloria in the UK in 1946. Three generations of three families bound together by the fate of one baby lost and found on Tilbury Dock. All three are now settled in their lives in 1980s Britain. We have reached the late 1980s. A new generation of Black Britons is gaining in confidence and and seizing their place in Thatcher’s Britain, making their mark on the political, social, and creative fabric of their home and forming new bonds with other. Joy has married Dhiren and is adapting to his religion and way of life as he takes steps into hers to create a blended family. Joy’s ex-husband, Hopeton, is desperate not to let that happen.

By Gareth Farr On Christmas Eve 2002, a girl is born in a seemingly ordinary family-run Northern pub. That baby is Amy and from the moment of her birth the fate of the pub is inextricably linked with her own. Cracks that have always existed break wide open and as she grows, the foundations of this legendary local pub start to shake. Narrated by Amy, through intimate and lyrical language, we are guided through the first twenty-one years of her life to a point where she alone must decide the future of those closest to her. Sally . . . . . Siobhan Finneran Amy . . . . . Sophie Cox Brendan . . . . . Pearce Quigley Karen . . . . . Leah Brotherhead Mark . . . . . Matthew Durkan Jack . . . . . David Hounslow Younger Amy . . . . . Maddie Evans Even Younger Amy . . . . . Miriam Mitic Sound design: Peter Ringrose Production coordinator: Gaelan Connolly-Davis Director: Sasha Yevtushenko Gareth Farr is an award-winning playwright. He started work as an actor, working at the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Court and West End as well at several regional theatres and on many TV roles. Gareth’s first stage play Britannia Waves the Rules (Manchester Royal Exchange) won a judge’s award at the Bruntwood Prize for Playwrighting. His other works include The Quiet House (Birmingham Rep Theatre and Park Theatre London), Biscuits For Breakfast (Hampstead Theatre) and A Child of Science (Bristol Old Vic – nominated for Best New Play at UK Theatre Awards 2024.). Shandyland started life as a stage play but was cancelled during rehearsals due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was shortlisted for the George Devine Award in 2021.

An AI wellness app observes its , encouraging her on daily runs and healthy shopping trips. But when does ‘wellness’ become too much? A new short story by award-winning Manon Steffan Ros (writer of The Blue Book of Nebo), read by Kezrena James, produced by Fay Lomas.

Distant football chants, a heart pounding with adrenalin, a violent fight between rival gangs. A desperate young woman makes a call to emergency services, there has been a stabbing. Somewhere close by in another street, another man is landing blows on a lad in a rival football firm. Welcome to The Fury. But this man is an undercover officer, and this won’t be the last time he has to put himself in danger to prove himself. He has been sent in to gain intelligence on the movements and plans of The Fury. An unlikely member of The Fury is Bethany, a tough nut, a survivor. She was the young woman on the call to emergency and it was her brother Callum that lay dying at her feet. As a result of this fresh murder, violence between the rival gangs is expected to escalate and the undercover operation is under threat. But how can our undercover officer leave now when he is at the heart of The Fury and then there is the question of saving Bethany….will he manage to get to the truth without risking his own safety and that of the people he loves? JASON ..... Tachia Newall BETHANY ..... Lauren-Nicole Mayes MIKEY ..... Joe Gill REECE ..... Hamish Rush SADIE ..... Sacha Parkinson LEO ..... Alfie Corbett DI KANE ..... Krissi Bohn DCI RICHARDS ..... Jason Done EMERGENCY CALL HANDLER .... Dionne Hunter BARWOMAN ..... Aimée Uwera RIVAL FIRM MEMBER ..... Louis Brown RIVAL FIRM MEMBER ..... Darren McColl POLICE OFFICERS ..... Ethan Cale, Daniel Fitzpatrick FOOTBALL FANS: Students from Burnley College: Andrew Jennings, Artur Karlovec, Chloe Conway, Daisy Whittam, Daniel Fisk, Gemma Henderson, Jack Dobbie, Jemima Olaiya, Joseph Butterworth, Kaja Stefaniak, Kenny Conroy-Hargreaves, Kye Jones, Lauren Haigh, Leah Rowley, Marianna Morante, Maxwell Hopkinson, Rebecca Timms, Tom Capstick, Vincent Harper Written by Rachel Smith Produced and Directed by Nadia Molinari Sound Design and Technical Production by Sharon Hughes Assistant Technical Producer Amy Brennan Production co-ordinator, Lorna Newman Script Consultant Russell Lane A BBC STUDIOS AUDIO PRODUCTION FOR BBC RADIO 4

1649 was a significant year in British History because King Charles I was executed for treason. A lesser known, but arguably equally important, historical moment occurred in that same year: the first publication of the Qu'ran in English. Surprisingly, it was instigated by an English woman, called Margaret White, who was the wife of a printer called Robert based in Fleet Street, London. Based on historical research, this drama imagines the circumstances as to how the Qu'ran came to be first published in the English language. Cast: Margaret ......... Erin Shanagher Ayesha ..................Laila Alj Robert ...................Graeme Hawley Nicholas ............ Jon-Paul Bell Sergeant ............ Hamilton Berstock Production Co-ordinator - Pippa Day Studio Manager- Amy Brennan Sound Designer- Sharon Hughes Producer/Director- Jessica Mitic With thanks to Professor Suzanne Trill, the Arab British Centre and Dr Johnson’s House Museum Historical consultant-Professor Matthew Birchwood A BBC Studios Audio Production for Radio 4.

By Sylvia-Anne Parker. A music-fuelled drama set in the court of Henry VIII and playfully inspired by the life of Black Tudor and royal trumpeter - John Blanke. When Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII lose a child, the King prepares a celebration of the baby prince’s life and calls in the trailblazing trumpeter John Blanke to help him… And when John sees an opportunity to also help Henry VIII's private ions, little does he know that his timely intervention will change the course of history in more ways than one… Cast: John … Nicholas Pinnock with Bryon Wallen on trumpet Henry VIII … Rory Kinnear with Jacob Heringman on lute Dominic … Harry Lloyd with David McCallum on trumpet Harriet … Ayesha Antoine Femi and Compton …Yinka Awoni Catherine … Ruth Everett Studio Production: Alison Craig and Mike Etherden Production Co-ordinator: Rosalind Gibson Sound Design: Fraser Jackson. Directed by Kirsty Williams The writer dedicates this production to the memory of her audio drama mentor, Oliver Emanuel.

by Theo Toksvig-Stewart. Unflinching drama about consent. Two students fall in love, but one drunken evening changes everything. Starring Sam Otto (The State, Snowpiercer) and Louisa Harland (Derry Girls). M ..... Sam Otto W ..... Louisa Harland Technical Producer ..... Martha Littlehailes Technical Producer ..... Alison Craig Technical Producer ..... Anne Bunting Technical Producer ..... Mike Etherden Production Co-ordinator ..... Gaelan Connolly Writer ..... Theo Toksvig-Stewart Director ..... Abigail le Fleming THE PLAY Endless Second was originally produced by Cut the Cord Theatre and directed by Camilla Gütler, starring Madeleine Gray alongside Theo Toksvig-Stewart. It opened at Theatre503 before transferring to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2019 where it was shortlisted for the Holden Street Theatre Award and the Sit Up Award. The play then transferred to the Park Theatre and Pleasance Islington as part of their 'Best of the Fringe' seasons. THE WRITER Theo is a dyslexic writer and actor based in London. He was part of the BBC Writersroom Drama Room 2019/2020 and the Minack Emerging Playwrights Programme 2021. He was most recently commissioned by Applause as a South East Writer in residence. In 2020, he was commissioned by Warts and All Theatre to write an adaptation of Robyn Hood, developed with children in care in Wellingborough. His first play, An Opera from the East, was produced at Drama Centre London. The proud son of lesbian parents, Theo is developing a number of television projects including a show based on his 'unconventional' uprbinging.

by s Poet with monologues by Eileen Horne. Part One – A Dangerous Animal Dr Alex Bridges is an expert forensic psychiatrist and psychotherapist, assessing and treating perpetrators of serious crime. This gripping drama explores the psychological impact of murder on teenage perpetrators and follows the fortunes of participants in a Long Sentence therapy group. Has Dr Bridges made a mistake in putting co-offenders together in Group therapy? Dr Alex Bridges ….. Lolita Chakrabarti Anthony ….. Lorn Macdonald Finn ….. Reuben Joseph Twitch …. Brian Ferguson Simon ….. Shaun Mason Donna ….. Karen Bartke Mental Health Nurse ….. Elysia Welch Sound Design: Fraser Jackson Series Consultant: Dr Gwen Adshead Series format created by Lucia Haynes, Audrey Gillan, Eileen Horne, Gaynor Macfarlane, Anita Vettesse and Kirsty Williams. Thanks to Victoria Byrne, Barlinnie Prison, Vox Liminis Distant Voices Project and Prof Fergus McNeill. Produced by Gaynor Macfarlane and Kirsty Williams A BBC Scotland Production directed by Gaynor Macfarlane and Kirsty Williams

Joe (Sean Delaney) is the perfect right hand man, working hard to create a positive image of his rich Russian employer (Juris Zagars) and help him to avoid UK sanctions. But now Demidov's Ukrainian daughter-in-law is asking for Joe's help. Thriller by Simon Scardifield and Andrew Day. JOE.....Sean Delaney ALEX.....Steffan Cennydd OKSANA Anastasiya Ador PIOTR.....Juris Zagars KIM.....Suzanne Packer STEF.....Rhys Parry Jones PHIL.....Sion Pritchard Production co-ordinators.....Eleri Sydney McAuliffe and Lindsay Rees Sound designers....Jonathan Thomas, Nigel Lewis and Catherine Robinson Assistant Producer.....Fay Lomas Director.....Emma Harding A BBC Audio Wales production

Afternoon Drama by Tim Price, author of the National Theatre hit Nye. Tensions flare in the North Wales climbing community when a steel bolt appears on a sea cliff in Anglesey. Rhodri, a ionate adventure climber is totally against using bolts, but he's desperate to get the first ascent on a new climbing route, one that could really change his fortunes, and the future of his marriage is dependent on raising enough money to qualify for a spouse visa. CAST Rhodri - Sion Eifion Matilde - Norah Lopez Holden Gwion - Dion Lloyd Aubrey - Ian Dunnett Jnr Emily - Lauren Morais Dan - Nuhazet Diaz Cano Josepa - Zoila Garman Production Co-ordinators - Eleri McAuliffe and Lindsay Rees Sound Design - Catherine Robinson Directed by John Norton A BBC Audio Wales Production

By Anthony Del Col Gripping psychological thriller, set in the world of competitive gaming (esports). Cressida Yang was once a top esports psychologist, until she was scapegoated for the burn out of one of her clients. When her former colleague, Park, ropes her back in to do one last session to help out an underperforming player from his new team Klub Kinetic, Cressida is thrust back into dangerous a world she thought she had left behind. Cressida Yang...... Sophie Wu Blu_Devil ..... Thaddea Graham Park ..... Nikesh Patel Rooftop ..... Jonny Weldon Oliver/Officer Patel ..... Jaz Singh Deol Khaaan/Gonzalez ..... Nuhazet Diaz Cano Teenager ..... Andi Bickers Teammate ..... Dan 'Foxdrop' Wyatt Warstrm ..... Ian Dunnett Jnr Production co-ordinator- Pippa Day Assistant Technical Producer- Mike Etherden Technical Producer and Sound Designer- Sharon Hughes Director- Nadia Molinari Co-Producers- Nadia Molinari, Jessica Mitic, Lorna Newman With thanks to Nimitt Mankad, Anthony Wastella and Geoff Moore. A BBC Studios Audio Production for BBC Radio 4

By Svetlana Petriychuk Translated by Anna Razumnaya Svetlana Petriychuk's provocative, documentary-style play tells the story of a Russian woman who began an online relationship with an Islamic State fighter, and left everything behind as she travelled to him in IS group-controlled Syria. When she eventually returns to Russia, she is tried as a terrorist. Over the last decade, there have been hundreds of such cases in Russia and other former Soviet republics. The play, originally performed in Moscow in 2021, attempts to understand what motivated these women's choices: what is driving them to abandon their lives and for what promise? The play draws heavily on the Russian fairy tale of the same name, in which the heroine Maryushka sacrifices everything to travel to a faraway land in search of her beloved prince. In 2022, the original stage production of Finist the Bright Falcon was awarded two awards at the Golden Mask festival, the main national theatre prize in Russia. In July 2024, the playwright Svetlana Petriychuk and the play's director Zhenya Berkovich were sentenced to six years in prison on charges that the play “justifyies terrorism.” The charges are widely seen as a politically motivated attack on freedom of expression in Russia. The Defendant . . . . . Sabrina Sandhu The Judge . . . . . Clare Corbett Other parts . . . . . Nadia Albina, Ruth Everett, Shreya Lallu, Andi Bickers The original stage production was directed by Zhenya Berkovitch. It was translated from the Russian by Anna Razumnaya. The translation consultant was Professor Julie Curtis. Finist the Bright Falcon was produced for radio by Sasha Yevtushenko. A BBC Studios Audio production for Radio 4.

Inspired by true events, Orlando Wells' irreverent and anarchic comedy tells the story of two scientists tasked with embalming the body of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin for public display. It's 1924. Lenin is dead. Stalin has seized power and his shadow falls over the lives of millions of Russians. A group of senior Bolsheviks, the self-proclaimed Immortalisation Commission, request the services of two scientists to aide their cause: ensure the Revolution’s survival by building a shrine to their deceased messianic leader. The country's future hangs in the balance; the Communist regime is still in its infancy and a personality cult might be instrumental in legitimising Russia's new overlords. Although it has never been done before, the scientists are under no illusion of the consequence of failure. Vladimir . . . . . Matthew Steer Boris . . . . . Ashley Margolis Faina . . . . . Rhiannon Neads Krasin . . . . . Kenneth Collard Dzerzhinsky . . . . . David Hounslow Lenin . . . . . Gyuri Sarossy Nadya . . . . . Ruth Everett The guitarist is Ian Dunnet Jnr. Studio managers: Peter Ringrose and Alison Craig. Sound design: Peter Ringrose. Production co-ordinator: Gaelan Davis-Connolly. Director: Sasha Yevtushenko. Orlando Wells is a writer and an actor. Lenin Forever! is his first radio play. He has also written five original theatre plays: The Winter Room (RSC fringe festival), Cold Enough, The Tin Horizon (Theatre 503), Four Days in Hong Kong (The Orange Tree) about Edward Snowden’s exposure of the NSA’s spy programme, and The Woodcutter’s Tale. He adapted Patrick Hamilton’s The Duke in Darkness for the Chiswick Playhouse; and co-wrote the libretto for the experimental opera, Triptych, at the Print Rooms and Wilton’s Music Hall. He was a series-writer for the animated children programs Inspired by true events, Orlando Wells' irreverent and anarchic comedy tells the story of two scientists tasked with embalming the body of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin for public display. It's 1924. Lenin is dead. Stalin has seized power and his shadow falls over the lives of millions of Russians. A group of senior Bolsheviks, the self-proclaimed Immortalisation Commission, request the services of two scientists to aide their cause: ensure the Revolution’s survival by building a shrine to their deceased messianic leader. The country's future hangs in the balance; the Communist regime is still in its infancy and a personality cult might be instrumental in legitimising Russia's new overlords. Although it has never been done before, the scientists are under no illusion of the consequence of failure. Vladimir . . . . . Matthew Steer Boris . . . . . Ashley Margolis Faina . . . . . Rhiannon Neads Krasin . . . . . Kenneth Collard Dzerzhinsky . . . . . David Hounslow Lenin . . . . . Gyuri Sarossy Nadya . . . . . Ruth Everett The guitarist is Ian Dunnet Jnr. Studio managers: Peter Ringrose and Alison Craig. Sound design: Peter Ringrose. Production co-ordinator: Gaelan Davis-Connolly. Director: Sasha Yevtushenko. Orlando Wells is a writer and an actor. Lenin Forever! is his first radio play. He has also written five original theatre plays: The Winter Room (RSC fringe festival), Cold Enough, The Tin Horizon (Theatre 503), Four Days in Hong Kong (The Orange Tree) about Edward Snowden’s exposure of the NSA’s spy programme, and The Woodcutter’s Tale. He adapted Patrick Hamilton’s The Duke in Darkness for the Chiswick Playhouse; and co-wrote the libretto for the experimental opera, Triptych, at the Print Rooms and Wilton’s Music Hall. He was a series-writer for the animated children programs Xolight and Noksu.