Drama on 3: French like Faiza

Original version

BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

BBC Radio 3

Radio 3

Drama on 3

Drama

Series of drama performances, ranging from experimental works to the Classics

French like Faiza

BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3, French like Faiza

Love, faith and values clash in a woman’s search for identity in cross-cultural London.

Love, faith and values clash as a French woman of Algerian descent seeks identity in cross-cultural London. An unexpected romance forces Faiza to question her own assumptions.

Faiza is French of Algerian descent and moves to London hoping to reset her life. She has never felt truly accepted in her own country and arrives in Britain eager to escape a sense of exclusion she believes unique to France. In the wake of a painful break-up she is also open to the romantic possibilities this new city might offer. But when she meets Mehdi, a British Pakistani, Faiza soon discovers that Britain is far from the land of butterflies and rainbows she had imagined.

Turkish writer and film-maker Ilana Navaro was born in Istanbul but lives in Paris. She is the author of numerous documentaries for Arte and France Télévisions. Her work for radio often explores issues of identity and multiculturalism. Her documentary series ‘France and England on the edge of a nervous breakdown’ for France Culture compares social policies and attitudes towards immigration and integration in both countries. 

Sudha Bhuchar is a Tanzanian-born British actor and playwright. Her body of work about Asian diaspora communities includes ‘Touchstone Tales’. As co-founder of Tamasha theatre company, her landmark dramas include ‘Child of the divide’ and ‘My Name is…’ which she also adapted for BBC Radio 4.

Written by Ilana Navaro with Sudha Bhuchar and Nicolas Jackson

Faiza ….. Laïla Alj
Mehdi ….. Navin Chowdhry
Elsa ….. Jade Matthew
Afrine ..… Sophie Khan Levy
Deepika ….. Hussina Raja
Prema ..… Sudha Bhuchar
Paul ….. Will Howard
Echo ….. Liz Sutherland-Lim
Atif ….. Danny Ashok
Sabrina ….. Adélia Esteve Richard
Elias ….. Djan Miské Navaro
Salma and Adèle ….. Fatima Adoum
Nico ….. Yves Heck

Executive producer, Sara Davies
Mix,Steve Bond
Sound design, Adam Woodhams
Produced and directed by Nicolas Jackson

An Afonica production for BBC Radio 3

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Drama on 3

French like Faiza

Genres

Brand

BBC Radio 3

About BBC Radio 3