Holy Mountain and Tamasha Announce THE WAVES, Audio Dramas Exploring The Impact Of Colonialism On Modern British Life

Leading theatre company Tamasha, celebrated for telling stories from the global majority, and acclaimed audio drama production company Holy Mountain today announce THE WAVES - a series of five explosive 25-minute audio dramas. Broadcast from 19 January, THE WAVES explores our age of so-called 'culture war' through the lens of the legacy of the British empire.

The five dramas tell local stories from Cardiff, Bristol, Manchester, Leamington Spa and Edinburgh. Taken together, they create a national picture of contemporary Britain, and how it has been shaped by its colonial past. From the terraces of a Hibs football match to a beauty pageant in Cardiff Bay, these stories take us inside modern British life with the authenticity of lived experience.

Each drama is by a writer whose family heritage was affected by British colonialism, and who lives in the place their story is set. Raising fundamental questions about how we live today, THE WAVES is a series of the finest original audio drama by a new generation of writers, directors and actors from the global majority.

Boz Temple-Morris, founder of Holy Mountain said: Great storytellers make positive contributions to our national conversations. That's what this is about. With Tamasha and its former Artistic Director Fin Kennedy, we've developed five incredible teams so that each project has its roots in the communities in which it is set. We are not bashing anyone for what happened in the past - but asking how our colonial past influences normal life today. The result is extraordinary - tune in!

Valerie Synmoie, CEO of Tamasha said: We are delighted to be partnering with Holy Mountain on THE WAVES, bringing to life new stories from some of the finest writers in the country. THE WAVES explores how our colonial past never leaves us - but still resonates and impacts on life in the UK today, with stories located in places from Edinburgh to Leamington Spa. Broadcast on local radio stations, THE WAVES is a fantastic opportunity for Tamasha and Holy Mountain to reach new audiences, by bringing exciting and relevant stories to living rooms across the country.

The five writers were chosen following a national call out. They all live in the areas in which the stories are set and are from the communities they depict. Broadcast on a network of Community Radio stations around the UK (see below), their stories will be embedded in their communities and reflect their hopes, questions and concerns as well as entertaining them. The series will be released as a Podcast later in 2022.

At the helm of the series are Boz Temple-Morris, founder of Holy Mountain, and Fin Kennedy, award winning playwright and until recently the Artistic Director of Tamasha. Fin and Boz have been regular collaborators making audio drama for Radio 4 and mentoring writers for radio through Tamasha's Developing Artists programme.

THE WAVES has outstanding production values; these dramas are mostly recorded on location, on the streets and in houses rather than studios, and with performances, direction, sound editing and original music that transports the audience into the heart of the story.

THE WAVES is made possible by the support of The Audio Content Fund; financed by the UK Government to fund independent producers making high quality, public service content for UK commercial and community radio, The Audio Content Fund has so far supported 128 projects distributing over £2.6m in the sector.