By Sabri Louatah
Adapted for radio by Hugh Costello from the translation by Gavin Bowd
Emitida en BBC Radio 4 22/06/2019
It is the eve of the French presidential elections (“The Election of the Century” say the headlines), and Idder Chaouch, the country’s first Arab candidate has victory in his sights. Meanwhile, the French-Algerian Nerrouche family is preparing for a grand wedding. But something is up with younger cousin Krim. Linking these two worlds is heartthrob actor Fouad Nerrouche. Within a matter of hours, the threads begin to unravel on both wedding and election campaign, and the collision between the destiny of a family and the hopes of a nation becomes inevitable.
Cast:
Krim ….. Mohammad Amiri
Fouad & Benbaraka ….. Khalid Laith
Rabia….. Sirine Saba
Luna, Kenza & Jasmine ….. Shavani Cameron
Uncle Bouzid ….. Nabil Elouahabi
Granny Nerrouche & Bride’s Mother …… Amira Ghazalla
Great Uncle Ferhat ….. Raad Rawi
Slim ….. Hamza Jeetooa
Momo …… Farshid Rokey
Chaouch & Rachid ….. Waleed Elgadi
Zoran …… Emma Frankland
Djamel ….. Ali Barouti
French girl ….. Catriona Stirling
French guy …. Will Howard
Other voices were played by the cast
Executive producer …. Sara Davies
Produced by Nicolas Jackson & Steve Bond
An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4

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By Leïla Slimani
Adapted for radio by Hattie Naylor from the translation by Sam Taylor
Listen to the drama
Adapted from Leïla Slimani’s international bestseller, winner of France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt.
When Myriam, a French-Moroccan lawyer, decides to return to work, she and her music producer husband Paul look for the perfect nanny for their two young children. They never dreamed they would find Louise – a quiet, polite and devoted woman who captivates the children, cleans the family’s chic Paris apartment, stays late without complaint and hosts enviable birthday parties.
But as the couple’s dependence on their nanny increases, their idyllic domesticity is shattered.
Cast:
Louise ….. Christine Bottomley
Myriam ….. Laila Alj
Paul ….. Shaun Evans
Mila ….. Beatrice Butler
Wafa ….. Lara Sawalha
Gigi….. Liz Sutherland-Lim
Grace ….. Feyi Babalola
Adam ….. Leo Layton-McClean
Emergency services ….. Céline Fuhrer
Emergency services ….. Cédric Moreau
Other voices played by the cast.
Executive Producer: Sara Davies
Produced by Nicolas Jackson and Steve Bond
An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4

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De Shahriar Mandaninpour
Traducido por Sara Khalili
Dramatizado por Hattie Naylor
BBC Radio 4
Contemporary drama from Iran. A writer must cheat the censor to publish his love story.
In order for his book to receive a publishing permit, the writer must convince Mr Petrovich, the all-powerful censor at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, that it will not provoke sin in the mind of the reader.
His characters, Sara and Dara, meet at a riot and are obliged to hide their encounters from both their families and the regime’s Campaign Against Social Corruption, the feared citizen-guardians of Islamic morality. Gender separation is rigorously enforced and illicit passion punished so the lovers exercise their creativity to meet in secret amid the bustling streets of Tehran, in an empty cinema and a hospital A&E unit. Discovery would mean imprisonment, even death.
Yet writing freely of their encounters puts the writer in as much peril as his own fictional lovers in this Farsi Fahrenheit 451.
Reparto
Writer ….. Kevork Malikyan
Petrovich ….. Philip Arditti
Sara ….. Isabella Nefar
Dara ….. Amir El-Masry
Jafar & Golshiri ….. Raad Rawi,
Stepmother & Librarian ….. Mia Soteriou
Young Dara ….. Beatrice Butler
Mother Sara ….. Nathalie Armin
Father Sara ….. Nabil Elouahabi
Mr Sinbad & Brother Atta …..Pezh Mann
Jafar & Father Dara ….. Raad Rawi
Mother Dara ….. Mia Soteriou
Other roles were played by the cast.
Executive producer: Sara Davies
Sound design by James Morgan and Steve Bond
Music by Gorkem Sen
Produced and directed by Nicolas Jackson
An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4

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By Hannah Silva
5 episode series for BBC Radio 3
Hannah Silva’s future-set story of a woman’s search for connection is told through the podcasts she makes with her synthetic robodoll.
Nikki King is a journalist and presenter of Scientethics, a podcast exploring the blurred lines where tech, science and ethics merge. Covering the reappearance of enigmatic and reclusive robotics expert Tim Lowe, Nikki is surprised to find herself at the centre of his latest work.
“The relationship between humans and their artificial counterparts runs right back to the myths of ancient Greece, where Pygmalion’s statue was brought to life with a kiss. It is the stuff of legend and of science fiction – part of our written history and a part of our imagined future.” Dr Kate Devlin
Pygmalion and Narcissus intertwine in this 21st century story of human relationships and loneliness, of our need for external validation and the search for self.
By Hannah Silva
Nikki & Knickers ….. Valene Kane
Tiresias ….. Neil Bell
Marc ….. Luke Jerdy
Soozie ….. Stephanie Greer
Other voices ….. Catriona Stirling
Executive producer, Sara Davies
Produced by Nicolas Jackson & Steve Bond
An Afonica production for BBC Radio 3

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De Hannah Silva
BBC Radio 4
Escucha la obra
Juan, a child migrant, risks everything to cross Mexico aboard ‘The Beast’, a freight train bound for the U.S. For the travellers on such a perilous journey, some fates can be worse than death.
‘The Beast’ (La Bestia) is the name given to the freight trains frequently used by Latin American migrants to cross Mexico in an attempt to reach the U.S. border. Most are escaping violence and poverty in countries like Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. Every year it’s estimated that up to 500,000 migrants risk their lives atop ‘The Beast’. Along the way, they are exposed to attack by gangs, corrupt officials, killer bees and the constant threat of falling from the train and being crushed on the tracks. ‘The Beast’ is also known as ‘The Death Train’ or ‘The Train of the Unknown’ since many die along the route. Sleep is impossible and the bodies of migrants who fall from the train may never be recovered.
In Mexico, on 31 October, All Hallow’s Eve, it is customary for children to make altars to invite the angelitos – the spirits of dead children – to return and visit the living.
Hannah Silva’s lyrical and highly contemporary drama is based on research into real cases of migrants who have travelled on ‘The Beast’, and takes inspiration from Pedro Páramo, the classic 1950s Mexican ghost story
Cast
Juan ….. Karlo Díaz
Diego ….. Josh Cruze
Consuela ….. Armando Rey
María ….. Dyana Ortelli
José ….. Luis Enrique Navarro
Rosa ….. Daisy Arlene
Margarita ….. Alejandra Gollas
Other roles were played by the cast
Executive producer: Sara Davies
Produced by Nicolas Jackson & Steve Bond
An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4

 
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The audio series for BBC School Radio follows two friends: Quique, who is Spanish, and his friend Charlie, who is English and has just come to live in the area of Madrid called Lavapíes. Together they explore the city and with Quique’s help Charlie learns Spanish, supported by Quique’s mum Sofía, his Uncle Manu and their neighbour Maria. Each episode features a visit to a local landmark, a story, a conversation and a song.
See all 40 clips from ¡Mi Madrid!
Listen to all 10 episodes of ¡Mi Madrid!
This series of 40 audio clips provides resources to support learning Spanish at Key Stage 2, including ten songs. The content is primarily intended for 8 to 10 year olds who have been learning Spanish for one or two years. However, teachers may also find that some elements are suitable for younger pupils. A summary of the content can be found in the table below, with full details in the Teacher’s Notes. Transcripts / translations of all the content can be found on the Resources page and the clips can be downloaded in blocks of four from the Downloads page.
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Inside the disturbing world of solitary confinement, the prison within a prison, Mandy attempts to exert control over her memories and her days.
Solitary confinement, or segregation, is described as ‘deep custody’ and has three key characteristics: social isolation; reduced sensory input and activity; and an increased control of prisoners. Some spend as long as 23.5 hours a day locked up alone inside the most basic of cells.
As of January 2015, the total segregation capacity in England and Wales was 1586 cells with 9% of those occupying them segregated for longer than 84 days. Prisoners are entitled to a short period of exercise, a shower, and a phone call daily. In some segregation units in the UK, prisoners have to choose between having a shower and taking exercise, with periods of exercise lasting less than 30 minutes. (From «Deep Custody: Segregation Units and Close Supervision Centres in England and Wales» by Dr Sharon Shalev and Kimmett Edgar – 2015).
Hannah Silva’s drama explores the intensely horrific experience of segregation. Within the confines of her tiny cell, Mandy is entirely cut off from the world. Yet she is unable to keep out the unbearable weight of her past.
‘Solitary’ is informed by the accounts of women prisoners who have experienced segregation for prolonged periods in UK prisons.
Mandy ….. Christine Bottomley
Other voices ….. Tanya Auclair and Will Howard
Executive producer Sara Davies
Written by Hannah Silva
Produced by Nicolas Jackson and Steve Bond
‘Solitary’ is an Afonica production for BBC Radio 3.
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Enero 2018 en BBC Radio 4
La novela de Elif Shafak adaptada y dramatizada para la radio británica.
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BBC World Service
First broadcast October 2017
Brazil is the C-section capital of the world. In a country where caesareans account for over half of all births and 88% in the private sector, BBC correspondent Julia Carneiro investigates what some call the “C-section epidemic”.
Mariana is a TV producer who recently gave birth to baby Artur at a private clinic in Rio. She wanted a natural birth but feels she was forced instead into a last-minute caesarean by her doctors through intimidation and misinformation.
Mariana’s case, though extreme, is not isolated, with many instances of ‘obstetric violence’ reported across the country. These come as no surprise to Heloisa Lessa, a midwife who sees a link between Brazil’s culture of machismo and its high rate of caesareans. For obstetrician Maria Helena Bastos, birth in Brazil has become a medical procedure, with natural birth perceived as primitive and unnecessarily painful – an image fuelled by the Brazilian media. Doctors are accused of discouraging natural birth because it is time consuming and unpredictable, as well as less profitable.
Julia Carneiro’s hometown of Poços de Caldas has some of the highest C-section rates in the country. She returns to Poços to find out why from staff and patients at the local maternity hospital, where she witnesses a birth.
Some of Rio’s private clinics offer makeovers immediately after a C-section, with family members following the procedure on cinema screens. But caesareans are not only the preserve of the rich. Alba Valeria, who lives on the edge of a violent favela, is having a C-section after two previous natural births.
Julia examines recent government measures to counter a C-section culture which remains dangerously strong.
Producer: Olivia Humphreys and Nicolas Jackson
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Próximamente para BBC World Service
Un documental que explora el mundo de las cofradías en las facultades norteamericanas. Una exploración también incluye el peligroso fenómeno del «hazing».
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Texto de Hannah Silva
Primera emisión: 15 de octubre de 2016
BBC Radio 3 – Between the Ears
Finalist for the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2017 for Best Drama and shortlisted for Best Actress (Fiona Shaw)
On 2 August 2015, the great Russian freediver Natalia Molchanova disappeared in Spanish territorial waters. Through sound, text and music, ‘Jump Blue’ takes us to extraordinary depths in this immersive re-imagining of her final descent.
Apnea, or freediving without breathing apparatus, requires the few who practise it to encounter a profound stillness as their heart rate slows and their lungs contract. In the darkness of the abyss, on a single breath, they truly meet themselves. In Hannah Silva’s lyrical text, voiced by actress Fiona Shaw, memory and sensation fragment and intertwine in shifting layers of consciousness.
«Jump Blue» is based on extensive interviews with many of the world’s leading freedivers, including Natalia Molchanova’s son Alexey.
Freediver ….. Fiona Shaw
Text by Hannah Silva
Research by Nicolas Jackson
Executive producer, Sara Davies
Music by Aaron May
Sound design by Steve Bond
Produced by Nicolas Jackson and Steve Bond
‘Jump Blue’ is an Afonica production for BBC Radio 3
Download or stream the podcast here

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Escrito por Timothy X Atack
Creado por Nicolas Jackson & Timothy X Atack
Emitido: 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30 de octubre de 2016
BBC Radio 3
Finalist for the BBC Audio Drama Awards 2017 for Best Script (Tinniswood Award) and Best Supporting Actress (Valene Kane)
‘The Blackletter Quartet’, a new music ensemble, had an idea: to write and record an album on Stroma, an abandoned island off the north coast of Scotland.
Five years after the Quartet’s disappearance, ‘The Stroma Sessions’ – a series of audio files charting the musicians time on the island and the music they created there – were discovered on the internet.
Stroma was abandoned in the early 1960s: its few remaining buildings stand dilapidated, battered by the North Sea. The four musicians sought inspiration in the ruined houses and unforgiving weather. They wanted to make music in a ghost town. The evidence suggests they found what they were looking for.
Reparto
Riley….. Rebekak Statons
Hilde ….. Valene Kane
Sam ….. Jade Matthew
Nico …. David Carlyle
Telephone man ….. Timothy X Atack
Narrator ….. Colin Salmon
Escrito por Timothy X Atack
Creado por Nicolas Jackson & Timothy X Atack
Música de Danny Norbury
Música interpretada por Danny Norbury, Hazel Correa and Patricia Ramirez.
Productora ejecutiva, Sara Davies
Sonido,  Steve Bond
Dirigido por Nicolas Jackson, Steve Bond e Isolde Penwarden
Producido por Nicolas Jackson
‘The Stroma Sessions’ is an Afonica production for BBC Radio 3

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