Drama of the Week

Set inside Britain's housing crisis, six stand-alone but interconnected dramas follow ambition, resilience and the search for belonging.Tanika Gupta's drama tells the story of the tenants in the crumbling Riverbourne tower block in west London, where damp walls, broken lifts, mould, unsafe wiring and heating failures have been ignored for years while rents continue to climb. The Housing Association claims its mission is to provide homes for “vulnerable tenants” - those unable to sustain a tenancy without support due to age, disability, health conditions, or exceptional circumstances - But in reality the Association neglects repairs and intimidates the very people it's meant to protect.There is fear and anger for the tenants but as they get to know one another their solidarity and defiance grows: housing is a human right, not a commodity. All of them have personal histories but these difficulties they have all faced individually give them strength to stand together and the number of voices calling for change is a powerful force. Is victory within their grasp.Shazia ….. Avita Jay Aisha ….. Yasemin Ozdemir Amara ….. Alaa Taha Eustace ….. David Webber Dylan ….. Max Hastings David ….. Ian Dunnett Jnr Arthur ….. Ben CroweDirected by Tracey NealeSound ..... Sharon Hughes, Keith Graham and Andy Garratt Production co-ordinators ..... Sara Benaim and Jonathan Powell Director ..... Tracey Neale Writer .... Tanika GuptaA BBC Studios Audio production for BBC Radio 4Tanika Gupta is an award winning writer. Her original theatre work includes Sugar Mummies,The Empress, Lions and Tigers and A Tupperware of Ashes. Her stage adaptations include Anita and Me, Hobson's Choice A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Doll's House and Hedda. Tanika has written numerous audio dramas and adapted classics like A Passage to India and Brick Lane. In 2008, Tanika was awarded an MBE for her services to drama and she has been awarded honorary doctorates from Chichester and University of West London. She was a writer in residence at the National Theatre and at Soho Theatre.

By Philip Catherwood.After twenty years living in the same end terrace house in North Belfast, Maggie is now being pressured into having a divisive mural painted on her gable wall. Rather than give in to intimidation, she enlists the help of teenage street artist Kyle – a Dubliner trying to find his feet in the city – to create a different kind of mural. However, not everyone in the community is ready to embrace change. Starring Abigail McGibbon and Daniel Mick Ryan.Author Philip Catherwood is a writer from Northern Ireland. His audio drama podcast ‘The Dial-Up' won a British Podcast Award and an Independent Podcast Award for Best Fiction in 2024. His play ‘The Pitch’ was recently staged at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast and finished a run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer. Philip was selected for BBC Writers Belfast Voices 2026 scheme and The Royal Court Theatre Writers Group 2026.Cast: Maggie ... Abigail McGibbon Kyle ... Daniel Mick Ryan Carl ... Paul Mallon Sammy ... Shaun Kearns Zuzanna .... Katarina KokenyovaAll other parts were played by the company.Production Co-ordinators: Sylvie Conway and Caoilfhinn McFadden. Studio Production: David Sproule, Bill Maul and Michael Davidson.Written by Philip Catherwood Directed by Michael ShannonA BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.

Tutor Charly arrives in luxury bunker Thornfield. But something's not right with this place. And what happened to her predecessor?In a near-future world on the brink of societal collapse, the wealthiest 0.01% have retreated into luxury bunkers. These high-tech fortresses boast swimming pools, cinemas, and hydroponic farms, but their inhabitants live in a bubble of paranoia and control. Charly takes a job tutoring the children of reclusive billionaire Edward in his doomsday bunker. But when strange things start happening, it seems dark secrets are buried in this vast bunker too.In the real world, the super-rich are already building bunkers ready to provide sanctuary from the apocalypse. In Chloë Myerson claustrophobic thriller, we ask: what happens next?This is episode 1. You can find the whole series on BBC Sounds now.CAST Charly ..... Ava Hinds-Jones Popo ..... Liz Sutherland-Lim Huxley ..... Ayrton English Mei ..... India Moon Obi ..... Joshua-Alexander Williams Kal ..... Tom Kiteley Axel ..... Alexander Arnold Edward ..... Jacob Fortune-Lloyd Other parts are played by David Holt and Debbie KorleyWritten by Chloë MyersonProduction Co-ordinator: Ben Hollands Sound Design: Peter Ringrose, Keith Graham, Andy Garratt Director: Anne IsgerA BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 4.