HashtagPublicEnemy

Available for 27 days

“The Haven” is a Norfolk eco-village on the cusp of a grand opening, which is jeopardised by the discovery of toxic waste in the water table. Based on Henrik Ibsen’s tragi-comedy about a whistle-blower, An Enemy of the People, Steve Waters’ original play HashtagPublicEnemy brings Ibsen’s themes into the 21st Century to explore colliding pressures around the economy, ecology, cancel-culture, corruption and popularism. Dr Tom Stockman has returned from a medical career in Uganda to his birthplace, Branwich, on the Norfolk coast. The town is governed by his sister Penny, a dynamic politician seeking to restore its fortunes with The Haven, a state-of-the art eco-village including holiday homes and an aqua-park. Having joined the executive team as an adviser, Tom realises that The Haven sits on a landfill site. Rising sea levels have caused toxins to enter the water table, threatening a tender ecosystem which risks undermining the idyllic vision, and economic promise of The Haven. When Tom breaks the unwelcome news he finds himself at the heart of a spiral of media interest. Tom Stockman ..... Joseph Millson Penny Stockman ..... Alexandra Gilbreath Petra ..... Norah Lopez Holden Maggie Killingworth ..... Anna Savva Conor Houston ..... Carl Prekopp Millie Goff ..... Silvia Presente Ajay Charkraborti ..... Sartaj Garewal Writer: Steve Waters Sound design: Alisdair McGregor Producer and director: Jeremy Mortimer Executive Producer: Joby Waldman A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 3 This is the latest ecologically-minded fictional work by Steve Waters following The Contingency Plan, a diptych of plays about climate change, and his role as co-convenor of the Writing and Science Project at UEA. He returned to environmental themes with his solo show 'In a vulnerable place' performed in 2014-2015 and is currently working on an AHRC Leadership Fellowship funded project 'The Song of the Reeds: Dramatising Conservation', an 18-month long collaboration with Wicken Fen and Strumpshaw Fen nature reserves, which has led to a series of acclaimed Radio 4 audio dramas.