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15 Minute Drama

On Kosovo Field

Episode 4: Dance on the Mountain

Duration: 15 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 FMLatest broadcast: on BBC Radio 4 LW

Available for years

Fin Kennedy's drama inspired by PJ Harvey's notebooks, poetry and songs from her travels in Kosovo, with her unreleased song demo 'Dance on the Mountain' woven through.

Siblings Rebeka and Dardan return to their native village with the set of keys, given to them by a neighbour before they left, offering the chance to unlock their home and, with it, their memories. They are forced to confront the painful truth of what happened to their parents.

Songs and music composed and performed by PJ Harvey

Sound Design by Steve Brooke

Directed by Nadia Molinari

PJ Harvey's album 'The Hope Six Demolition Project' and book of poetry 'The Hollow of the Hand' draw from several journeys undertaken by Harvey from 2011-2014; one of those journeys was to Kosovo. The inspiration for the drama came from Harvey's Kosovan notebooks, her poems and her Kosovan song demos. Writer Fin Kennedy also travelled to Kosovo with producer Nadia Molinari where they retraced some of Harvey's steps and talked to journalists, politicians and human rights activists working on conflict resolution and reconciliation, including Kushtrim Koliqi who was the cultural consultant on the script. 'On Kosovo Field' is the search for an identity via a road trip back through a lost heritage for a young, Kosovan born brother and sister. The 'play cycle' as an idea takes its inspiration from the traditional song cycles of the Albania/Kosovo region. By the end of the cycle we understand that the siblings are a metaphor for Kosovo itself, the newest country in Europe, poignantly searching for an identity after centuries of conflict. Show less

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