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Drama on 4: Belarus

Belarus

07/06/2012

BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Belarus

A London priest defies his bishop to speak out on behalf of a Belarusian dissident.

By Hugh Costello. A London priest defies his bishop to speak out on behalf of a Belarusian dissident, with unforeseen and devastating consequences.

Philip Meade, 35, (Jonathan Firth) is a parish priest at a Roman Catholic church in suburban London. Unlike some fellow priests in the metropolis, Philip is a traditionalist - he approves of the conservative policies of Pope Benedict XVI. In the eyes of his oldest friend Claire, (Jane Slavin) a GP, this makes him a reactionary. In his own eyes he is simply being true to the faith he preaches.

Philip is being quietly groomed for higher things by Monsignor Gardiner, (Paul Freeman) , a senior administrator of the diocese. A secondment to Rome, where theological skills would be honed and connections made, is in the pipeline. But Philip is not some Machiavellian careerist. He likes the immediacy and intimacy of parish work and has doubts about giving it up.

Philip is approached by one of his parishioners, Maria, (Lia Williams) from Belarus. She tells him about her father, Max, (David Calder) who has been imprisoned in Minsk. Max took part in demonstrations in late 2010 against the rigged elections that returned Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to power. Like hundreds of others, he has been detained without charge or trial. The family have heard nothing of him for months.

Shocked both by Max's plight and by his own ignorance of these events going on within Europe, Philip resolves to inform his superiors. If the church can be persuaded to speak out it might shame Lukashenko into releasing some of those held. But Philip's good intentions are about to lead him into a world of smoke and mirrors...

In Belarus by Hugh Costello

Fr. Philip Meade was played by Jonathan Firth
And Maria by Lia Williams
Max Blin was David Calder
Claire ..... Jane Slavin
Tom ..... Jonathan Tafler
Monsignor Gardiner ..... Paul Freeman
And Peter Meade..... Jon Glover

'Belarus' was produced in Belfast
The Director was Eoin O'Callaghan.

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