Barred

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Drama: Barred

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BBC Radio 4 - Drama on 4, Barred

British justice - addiction, corruption and scandal. And that’s just the barristers.

Tamika, an idealistic young black barrister, starts at Tudor Chambers and is faced with harsh truths about the broken criminal justice system and the integrity of her colleagues.

Step into Tudor Chambers. It’s got addiction, abuse, drugs, financial ruin, scandal and violence. And that’s just the barristers. 

Tamika starts at Tudor Chambers full of hope and idealism - only to be confronted by some harsh truths about the broken criminal justice system and the integrity of some of her colleagues. 

Barred is a contemporary thriller about a young black barrister trying to establish her career. She believes the law is a wonderful thing: “It’s freed slaves and humbled tyrants.” The problem is the Head of Chambers believes the law is simply a machine for making as much money as possible: “Justice doesn’t come into it.”

The stage is set for an epic clash of people, values and ambitions.

As tensions rise, the truth about a violent sexual assault in Tamika’s past starts to emerge but, rather than support her, colleagues use this vulnerability to manipulate and undermine her. 

Barred sits on a fault line between ordinary people and the institutions that are supposed to serve them - written with the knowledge of an insider and the passion of an outsider.

Thandi Lubimbi spent much of her childhood growing up in deprived areas of the country. She joined the army to get away, worked as a Senior Intelligence Officer for a law enforcement agency and then retrained as a barrister prosecuting criminal offences.

Richard Kurti has written extensively for radio and television, with award winning dramas for BBC Radio 4 (I, Robot, The Boy from Aleppo who Painted the War) and Audible (The Effect), and has two prize winning YA novels published by Walker Books.

Cast:
Tamika - 					Kerri McLean
Kris - 					Susannah Harker
Dominic - 				Andrew Wincott
Patrick - 					Andrew Lancel
Carol - 					Ali Bastian
Max - 					Liam Woodlands-Mooney
Franki - 					Anton Rice
Wallace - 				Sam Devereaux
Sam - 					Becky Wright
Thornton - 				Jonathan Rhodes
Security Guard - 			Russell Shaw
Elliott - 					David O’Mahony
Della - 					Sally Walker Taylor
HHJ Dyson - 				Pavel Douglas
Prosecutor -				Edwin Flay
DS Sullivan -				Sean Connolly
Grace -					Katy Maw
HHJ Graves -				Tanya Rich
Prosecutor Steadman - 	Will Harrison-Wallace
Helena - 					Marta da Silva
Faversham - 				Christopher Tester
Police Officer #1 -                  Alistair Lock
Police Officer #2 - 		Helen Quigley

Other roles were played by members of the cast.

Written by Thandi Lubimbi and Richard Kurti

Studio Manager - 			Wilfredo Acosta
Sound Design - 			Alistair Lock
Theme Music -			Tim Arnold
Incidental Music -                 Anna Phoebe
Producer -				Helen Quigley 
Director - 				Andrew Mark Sewell

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