Listening Parties

75-minute audio drama originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4, starring Michelle Keegan and Nico Mirallegro, with music by PJ Harvey.

Kosovan-born, Manchester-raised siblings Dardan and Rebecca were evacuated to the UK as unaccompanied minors during the Kosovan war of 1999. Raised in the British care system, they never saw their parents again. When a mass grave is discovered close to their old village, they return to the country for the first time as young adults, to give their DNA, and to see if they can finally put the past to rest. But the ghosts of the war which they find in the mountains have others ideas....

A 75-minute listening experience inspired by some unreleased songs by PJ Harvey following her travels in the region. The listening is followed by a live 30-min Q&A with the play's writer Fin Kennedy, director Nadia Molinari, and cultural consultant Kushtrim Koliqi, who followed in PJ Harvey's footsteps in modern day Kosovo to research and make the play. 

45-min audio drama set in Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) the UK's secretive digital spy agency, originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4.

When ageing GCHQ analyst Henry Morcombe is tasked with tracking three Welsh Muslim lads on a relief mission to war-torn Syria, he gets more than he bargained for when he discovers their true motives. Under fire from Syrian hackers working for the Assad government, Henry and colleagues must decide whether to defend the idealistic youngsters from afar, or leave them to their fate. 

Writer Fin Kennedy and director Boz Temple-Morris became the first fiction makers to be allowed into GCHQ to investigate its internal workings and culture. This listening experience is followed by a 30-min Q&A about what they found.

Two 30-min audio dramas originally made for The National Archives, about migration to British port cities by Indian and Arab seamen during the 1920s.

Steam Rises by Satinder Chohan (40 mins)

India sailor Buhur jumps ship in Liverpool and is taken in by a local landlady. When romance blossoms, this unlikely couple must navigate the original hostile environment, against the backdrop of race riots and widespread unemployment in the wake of World War One. A touching love story across the cultural divide, by the award-winning playwright of Made In India.

The Fireman by Hassan Abdulrazzak (30 mins)

Modern day podcaster Sahar leaves her native South Shields for a research trip to London, on a promise to her grandmother to find out more about her own father Ali Abdul, a Yemeni sailor. As the pandemic threatens to close down The National Archives, Sahar finds herself in a race against time to discover the truth, while battling her own rising schizophrenia as a result of a medication shortage. Past and present collide in this imaginative psychological thriller by the award-winning writer of Baghdad Weddi

Three independent audio dramas by new writers from the Balkans. Series 1: Kosovo, has featured in the Apple podcast charts. This is your chance to listen together, and chat to the emerging new talent behind this innovative initiative from an overlooked region. 

Fifth Dimension by Miran Hadzic (40 mins)

Tom is a one-time popular musician who is now making radio jingles for a living. He wants to join his German wife and daughter, who have left the UK after it has become a hostile environment for non-English people. But when Tom is commissioned by the government to write a new national anthem, he becomes trapped between two worlds and has to find a way out… 

Writer Miran Hadžić was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina but was raised in London. He visited Kosovo to work with acclaimed composer Trimor Dhomi on this 45-minute dark satire on a dystopian UK.

Where Is Mr President? by Agnesa Mehanolli (25 mins)

When the President of Kosovo fails to appear at a large Independence Day rally, his senior officials go into overdrive to try to locate him. As time ticks on, a power vacuum emerges which neither the Prime Minister nor Head of Parliament are prepared to fill. Instead, to prevent widespread unrest, they appoint the most unlikely of candidates… A hilarious new satire from Pristina-based new writer Agnesa Mehanolli.

Nude by Ulpiane Maloku (15 mins)

A proud middle-aged mother takes her best friend to a landmark exhibition by her artist son Guri, whose painting career is starting to take off. Kosovo’s latest art sensation specialises in contemporary nudes, but neither woman is prepared for what they find when they finally see Guri’s paintings for themselves… A quirky comedy from Pristina-based writer Ulpianë Maloku.

Choose from 1, 2 or all three of the dramas above, followed by a live Q&A with the play's writers and director.

Five 20-minute audio dramas developed  via five writers undertaking an 'access all areas' residency in the History department of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

It is a little known fact that, despite its diverse student body today, SOAS was originally founded to train officers of the British Empire. 

This uncomfortable history, along with other issues around the politics of teaching and learning, are examined in five fearless plays by an all-female writing team.

A FORM OF COLONISATION by Amy Ng

When SOAS History student Ai Ling Lo fails her latest essay on the last Chinese emperor Pu Yi, she goes to challenge her lecturer about her consistently harsh marking. Little does she realise this will set in motion a chain of events for them both, echoing the relationship between Pu Yi and his Scottish colonial tutor, Reginald Johnstone. A smart and timely examination of the power politics of teacher-student relationships across the centuries.

SCAR TISSUE by Satinder Chohan

When sisters Neeti and Priya travel back to India to scatter their grandmother’s ashes, Neeti takes with her the final recordings their beloved Bibi made on her death bed. Haunted by her past and gripped by strange visitations, Bibi’s voice follows them on their journey, before revealing a devastating secret.

THE MUSUEM by Danusia Samal

Once upon a time, a desperate man accepted an offer he couldn’t refuse for a collection of highly personal community artefacts at risk from war. Years later his daughter, on a scholarship to a London university, seeks out the academic she holds responsible. What lengths is she prepared to go to, to reclaim this lost museum?

THE BIGGER PICTURE by Guleraana Mir

On a cold autumn day, a lone hawk is spotted on SOAS campus, killing and mutilating pigeons. Meanwhile, Saima is struggling to get her lecturer to accept the subject for her dissertation – sixteenth century Indian warrior queen Chand Bibi. How can women take up their rightful place in history when the records of their achievements are so sparse? The answer comes from an unlikely source. Is any of it real, or a product of Saima’s grief-stricken mind?

THE QUESTIONS YOU ASK by Bushra Laskar

As Aisha Saikia waits in hospital for news of her mother, undergoing brain surgery after a debilitating stroke, an old classmate, Sunny, shows up to pay his respects to his old History teacher. But when it turns out that ‘Psycho Saikia’ told the two of them very different stories about a traumatic experience from her past, Aisha is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her mum, and herself.

Mix and match from the dramas above, followed by a live Q&A with each play's writer, in conversation with senior SOAS History lecturer Eleanor Newbigin.