| Tena Stivicic - Fireflies - BBC -Radio 4 |
| Broadcast on Thursday, 3rd September 2009, 14:15 on BBC Radio 4.
By Tena Stivicic In this highly praised European Broadcasting Union play written by Tena Štivicic, chance encounters and strange revelations abound as six people in a weather-stricken airport wait – and wait. Synopsis: The doom-laden words "due to unforeseen weather conditions..." too often echo out from airport tannoys but, for Martin, this delay could literally spell disaster. Martin is on his way to a Swiss clinic to end his life, having been diagnosed with a terminal illness. However, to his great surprise, he meets Clara, erstwhile girlfriend and love of his life. The story of their relationship is threaded through the rest of the play, as listeners meet the four other dramatis personae – all with very different histories. Jeanne and Nate, a comically neurotic couple who are taking their first break together since going into recovery and joining AA, are terrified about a beach holiday without a comforting array of cocktails and spirits. As they crack under the strain, Nate confesses to a sexual indiscretion. The other two stranded passengers are Olga and Oliver, both travelling to the US but otherwise as unlike in life experience and attitudes as they could be. Olga is a bright young Russian from a remote rural area, en route to Miami with the promise of a job as a nanny. Fusspot Oliver, meanwhile, lives in a retirement home, where he was parked by an ungrateful son whom he now hopes to visit. As he chats to Olga, he doesn't like the sound of her new employment. As they wait for the weather to clear, the six collide with each other and, in spite of themselves, regroup in permutations that produce a powerful, humorous, engaging and moving drama. Martin ...... James Fleet Clara ...... Helena Breck Olga ...... Lizzy Watts Oliver ...... David Hargreaves Jeanne ...... Annabelle Dowler Nate ...... Stephen Hogan Customs Officer/Felipe (bartender) ...... Benjamin Askew Loud speaker announcer/Charles ...... Philip Fox Music composed and peformed by Russell Taylor and Steve Cooke. Directed by Peter Kavanagh. |
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