The Bulletin and Persons Unknown
Step back in time this November and join Applied Stories as we partner with The National Archives for an online premiere of a double bill of new audio dramas.
Inspired by once-classified official records, two award-winning playwrights take us back to a time when military and civilian efforts to control propaganda shaped the relations between our two islands forever.
The Bulletin by Barbara Bergin
The Bulletin, by Irish playwright Barbara Bergin, follows an illegal Sinn Féin publication and its daily struggle to document British army actions in an age long before social media. Constantly hunted, the Bulletin’s youthful team were pivotal in maintaining international pressure on Britain, uncovering the hidden cost of the war on Irish civilians, and driving Westminster politicians to the negotiating table.
Persons Unknown by Fin Kennedy
Persons Unknown, by British playwright and Applied Stories founder Fin Kennedy, examines the British army’s Courts of Inquiry, set up in place of coroner’s courts under martial law, and intended to control information reaching the public domain. Staffed by just three unqualified army officers, Persons Unknown looks at the personal and psychological toll on army personnel, themselves fresh from the horrors of the First World War.
Listen now for free
Both plays are now available for free online, in stunning surround sound productions directed by Anastasia Osei-Kuffour.
Read about the fascinating real-life records which inspired both plays here.
Read about the research and writing process in this blog by the writers and Archives' researcher Iqbal Singh.