Drama of the Week

by E.V Crowe.

Single parent Ana is pretty sure she isn't being paid fairly at work.
She's tried her boss; she's tried HR - to no avail.
So now she needs to find out how much her colleague Dave earns in order to make her case.
So one night, she turns up at his flat to ask him...

Crackling two-hander from award-winning writer E.V Crowe that asks: how far would you go to get what's fair?

Ana....Ellie Kendrick
Dave....Sam Swann

Production co-ordinator....Gaelan Davis-Connolly
Sound by Ali Craig, Keith Graham and Andrew Garratt
Written by E.V Crowe
Directed by Abigail le Fleming

The Writer
E V Crowe is a graduate of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme Super Group, and a writer for Theatre, Film, TV, Radio and Dance. She has had four plays on at the Royal Court. Her work for radio includes the award-winning How To Say Goodbye Properly and two series of comic but political two-hander Cry Babies.

This drama was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

Xinjiang Province, China. Uyghur student, Nur, is able to 'pass' as Han Chinese, and exploits this as much as possible in a society where Uyghur people live under constant surveillance.

Nur and her mother, Meryem, want to avoid being sent to one of the re-education prison camps, where it is thought a million people - mostly Uyghur - have been detained without trial. But then they are assigned a live-in Chinese 'relative' by the authorities - Auntie Wang Shu - who comes to stay in their apartment as part of a Family Week initiative to ensure lifestyle conformity: "Cook together, eat together, study together, travel together, sleep together!"

But Wang Shu has other motives, which involve marrying her son to a Uyghur woman. And she has Nur in her sights as a prime candidate. Any missteps by Nur or Meryem could result in their being sent into re-education. But will Nur play by the rules?

A fictional story inspired by real accounts. Writer Avin Shah has drawn on testimonies from the 2021 independent Uyghur Tribunal (chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice, chief prosecutor on the trial of Slobodan Milošević) and on research by Raminder Kaur, Professor of Anthropology and Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex, who served on the tribunal, as well on interviews with other Uyghur and Chinese cultural and political consultants.

Nur......Aruhan Galieva

Meryem.....Camilla Anvar

Guard and various other roles.....Daniel York Loh

Other members of the cast have chosen to remain anonymous.

It was a BBC Audio Wales production, directed by Emma Harding.

Based on the novel by Maisie Mosco
Dramatized by Adam Usden

Episode 1

An epic Jewish family saga, beginning in Manchester in 1905. The Sandberg family have escaped persecution from their homeland in Russia. They arrive as refugees in Strangeways, Manchester, where they must start a new life. Avraham, a cobbler from Dvinsk tries to find work in the many Jewish garment factories housed in the cramped terraces. His wife Sarah tries to settle the kids but has her heart set on her own home.

Sarah ...... Emma Leah Golding
Avraham ...... Daniel Abelson
David ...... Aaron Gelkoff
Sammy ...... Yoni Bronks
Isaac ...... David Fleeshman
Rabbi Lensky ...... Jack Wagman
Malka ...... Katie Bernstein
Chaim ...... Lishai Rice
Uncle Mottel ...... Lloyd Peters

Casting co-ordinators-Vicky Moseley and Pippa Day
Production co-ordinator-Lorna Newman
Studio Manager- Amy Brennan
Sound Designer- Sharon Hughes
Director/Producers- Jessica Mitic and Gary Brown

A BBC Studios Audio Production

From 1791 to 1917 thousands of Jews lived in 'The Pale of Settlement' in the west of the Russian Empire. Then after 1881 when the Tsar was assassinated, the Jews were unfairly blamed and there were many violent pogroms. Thousands fled to America and Western Europe to escape. For many English Jews this is their family's story. Their ancestors mainly went to the East End of London. But several thousand settled in northern cities such as Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester. The Jewish garment industry of the north went on to change the landscape of the British high street. Brands like Marks and Spencer (set up in Leeds Market), Burtons and Moss Brothers were part of the warp and the weft of twentieth century retailing.

By Helen Cross.

Rose has made a fresh start in the City of Angels and life feels good. But she can't ignore the past, and now it's starting to bite.

Her ex-boss Maya is loving never getting older and has Rose to thank for that. Maya has big plans for a 'rejuvenation' spa in the California hills, but Rose suspects all is not what it seems. On top of that she's worried that someone, or something, is trying to send her telepathic messages. But are they to warn her, or frighten her?

Stylish and surprising fantasy horror with a comic twist, starring Alexandra Mardell (Coronation Street) and Demetri Goritsas (Ten Percent). With music by Dana Margolin and Sam Yardley of Mercury-nominated band, Porridge Radio.

Helen Cross wrote ‘My Summer of Love’ which won a Betty Trask award and was made into a Bafta-winning film with Emily Blunt (recently rated her best film in The Guardian top ten Emily Blunt films). Mary Ward-Lowery won Best Director in 2020 Audio Drama Awards.

Rose ... Alexandra Mardell
Maya ... Miranda Braun
Austin ... Demetri Goritsas
Siobhan ... Deirdre Mullins
Delphine ... Yasemin Özdemir
Mam ... Jane Thornton
Jack ... Tyler Cameron
Gym owner ... Don Gilet
Dakota ... Rhiannon Neads
Alina ... Kitty O'Sullivan
Englishman ... Martin Bonger
Angry Man ... Douglas Hodgson
Gully ... Bruce Casswell

Original music written and performed by Dana Margolin and Sam Yardley of Porridge Radio.

Sound design by Ilse Lademann and Mary Ward-Lowery
Assistant Producer ... Alison Crawford
Director ... Mary Ward-Lowery

By Samantha Harvey. Mum drives through the Dark Hedges, crossing a threshold into a different world. Read by Deirdre Mullins.

Topical fiction inspired by the story, in this week's news, that some of the beech trees that line the Bregagh Road in Armoy, County Antrim, have been felled amid concern for public safety. The trees, a landmark in their own right, were made more famous after featuring in the fantasy drama Game of Thrones.

Samantha won the Betty Trask Prize for her first novel The Wilderness, which was longlisted for the Man Booker, and shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Guardian First Book Award. Her work has been described by critics as 'spectacular', 'beautiful' and 'profound', and her latest novel, 'Orbital', an 'awe-inspiring and humbling love letter to Earth', has been selected by The Guardian as one of the most important books of 2023.

Producer: Mary Ward-Lowery