Elif Shafak - The Bastard of Istanbul

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Raad Rawi

Laurel Lefkow

Lara Sawalha

Nathalie Armin

Mia Soteriou

Gillian Saker

Philip Arditti

Anna Savva

Baris Celiloglu

Jonas Khan

Murat Erkek

Catriona Stirling

Elif Shafak

Hattie Naylor

Nicolas Jackson

Elif Shafak - The Bastard of Istanbul: Episode 1: 1. The Visitor

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Episode 1

Episode 1: 1. The Visitor

1. The Visitor

BBC Radio 4 - Elif Shafak - The Bastard of Istanbul, 1. The Visitor

Elif Shafak's tale of two families bound by the same horrific past.

A tale of two families bound by a shared past. A visitor disrupts the Kanzanci household.  Stars Lara Sawalha and Raad Rawi.

Two families - one Turkish, the other Armenian-American - are bound by the same horrific past. 

One rainy afternoon in Istanbul, a 19-year-old, unmarried woman walks into a doctor's surgery. 

"I need to have an abortion," she announces.

20 years later, Asya Kazanci lives with her extended family in Istanbul. All the Kanzanci men die early, victims of a mysterious family curse, so this is a household of women. Among them are Asya's beautiful, rebellious mother Zeliha, her clairvoyant aunt Banu and their eccentric sister Feride, as well as the ageing Petit Ma. 

They are ruled over by the iron will of matriarch Gulsum. 

Into the midst of this madhouse comes Asya's determined American cousin Armanoush, who unknowingly brings with her long-hidden family secrets inextricably linked to Turkey's turbulent past. 

Written by Elif Shafak and dramatised in two parts by Hattie Naylor. 

Asya ….	Lara Sawalha
Mr Bitter ….	Raad Rawi
Mrs Sweet/Rose …. Laurel Lefkow
Zeliha …. Nathalie Armin
Banu ….  Mia Soteriou
Armanoush …. Gillian Saker
Mustafa …. Philip Arditti
Gulsum	…. Anna Savva
Feride …. Baris Celiloglu
Cook ….  Jonas Khan

With: 

Murat Erkek
Catriona Stirling

Director:  Nicolas Jackson

An Afonica production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in January 2018.

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Reading Europe - Turkey: The Bastard of Istanbul

Elif Shafak's tale of two families bound by the same horrific past. Dramatised by Hattie Naylor.

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Episode 1: 1. The Visitor

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