 Two new radio plays exploring interfaith themes are to be broadcast on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire in the coming month. The plays were commissioned from two writers, one Jewish and one Christian, and directed by Susan Bowden-Pickstock with a cast of mixed faith backgrounds.
The intention of the plays is to explore the things which connect different faiths - as well as to take a challenging look at the differences between them. As Susan Bowden-Pickstock asks, "are we all being just a bit too accepting? What about the issues that really do separate us?"
The first play, by Jane Liddell-King, concerns an imaginary emergency medical team in Sri Lanka following the tsunami. As they deal with the consequences of the disaster, including a woman who has lost her child and an elephant with a torn trunk, the characters unravel their own thoughts on God and the meaning behind such disasters.
 The second play, by James Lark, reveals an uncomfortable seminar on diversity in an imaginary academic institution. In spite of themselves, and thanks to the ineptitude of their tutor, the bored and unmotivated students get caught up in a real dialogue on issues of diversity that are closer to them than they realised.
Susan Bowden-Pickstock says that "watching the cast gradually react to each other was fascinating, as were the interviews afterwards on their own faith background and journey." The plays and the interviews which followed them will be broadcast on Radio Cambridgeshire's Sunday Breakfast programme in June. You can also read Susan Bowden-Pickstock's reflections on the plays on the BBC website here. | 