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Miriam and Youssef
Miriam and Youssef
Oct 8, 2024 12:44 AM

Author:Steve Waters,Shani Erez,Amir El-Masry,Blake Ritson,Ava Merson-O'Brien,Rafi Essex,Jo Ben Ayed,Nikhita Essex,Full Cast

Miriam and Youssef

A compelling 10-part drama about the founding of Israel, told through the parallel voices of a Jewish immigrant and an exiled Palestinian

1917. As the British enter Palestine with the aim of facilitating a Jewish homeland, young Arab Youssef Bannourah befriends Harry Lister, an English civil servant who has come to live in his village of Deir Yassin. Impressed by Youssef's intelligence, Harry finds him a job working for the British administration. Meanwhile, fleeing Jewish persecution in Russia, Miriam Cohen and her mother Sara set sail for the promised land. On arrival, they move to a newly constructed kibbutz near Jerusalem, where - divided by faith and a fence - Miriam meets Youssef for the first time.

Both dream of a nation where Jews and Arabs can live together in harmony. But their youthful idealism soon turns to disillusionment, and as tensions rise and violence erupts in the holy city, they become embroiled in political upheaval and terrorism. And for naive, well-meaning Harry Lister, Britain's inability to keep the peace - and her promises - will have fateful consequences...

Spanning 31 years from the closing days of the First World War to 1948, this epic, multi-perspectival drama is narrated by an older Miriam and Youssef, who recount the story to their children. Moving seamlessly between past and present, it takes in key figures and pivotal moments in Israel's history, including the Balfour Declaration, the 1930s Arab Revolt, the bombing of the King David Hotel and the UN vote to partition Palestine.

Written by acclaimed playwright Steve Waters, Miriam and Youssef takes a nuanced look at the turbulent chain of events that led to the birth of the State of Israel, shedding fascinating light on the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Among the diverse cast are a host of top Middle Eastern and British actors, including native Israeli Shani Erez as Miriam, Egyptian-born Amir El-Masry as Youssef and Londoner Blake Ritson as Harry Lister.

Production credits

Written by Steve Waters

Produced by Radio Drama London for BBC World Service

Music written and performed by Glenn Sharp

Sound design: Caleb Knightley

Cast

Miriam - Shani Erez

Youssef - Amir El-Masry

Young Miriam - Ava Merson-O'Brien

Young Youssef - Rafi Essex/Jo Ben Ayed

Young Zahra - Nikhita Essex

Harry Lister - Blake Ritson

Sara - Jessica Turner

Abu Khalid - Rami Nasr

Umm Khalid - Sirine Saba

Mahmoud/Menachim Begin - Daniel Rabin

Yehoshua - Philip Arditti

Ben-Gurion/Rabbi - Elliot Levey

Mufti - Dana Haqjoo

Major Dennis/Haganath Major - Clive Hayward

Zahra - Lara Sawalha

Judah Magnes/McMasters - Neil McCaul

Musa Alami - Sargon Yelda

Mohammed - Ramzi Dehani

Palestinian woman - Nathalie Armin

With Heather Craney, Hasan Dixon and Steve Waters

Other parts played by members of the cast

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 29 April-1 July 2020

©2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P)2021 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

Reviews

Convivial and chirpily amusing...Wisecracking Mel's journey from tragedy to comedy.

—— Telegraph

Riotous

—— Daily Mail

A jaunty romp across Brooks's career

—— The Times

Brooks writes evocatively and with huge affection about his show business breakthrough as a writer

—— iNews

Such an enjoyable read

—— RTE

Eye-popping revelations [...] Will Smith bares all about his childhood and life

—— Sun

The book is awesome. So candid and considered...fascinating.

—— Chris Evans , Virgin Radio

An honest, educational and downright hilarious memoir. It’s a deeply affectionate look at a much-maligned bit of Britishness that we simply couldn't live without

—— Angela Barnes

A gorgeously funny, deeply affectionate and fully costumed swallow-dive into the great – and historic – amateur theatrical tradition. I loved it

—— Alistair Petrie

A hilarious, informative amdramoir – a love-letter to her father and a fascinating insight into the much maligned minority: the amateur

—— Doon Mackichan

Highly entertaining... [Landreth] has cleverly - and wittily - conflated memoir with the history of am-dram, its practical application and a close look at some of our most venerable companies."

—— Nick Smurthwaite , Sardines Magazine

I thoroughly enjoyed this beguiling ensemble of memoir, social history, interviews and manifesto, which tells the story of am-dram in Britain

—— Caroline Sanderson , Bookseller

Phillip Schofield has spoken candidly about his coming out process and his current mental health struggles in his autobiography

—— Pink News

Takes readers on the journey Phillip has taken to get to where he is today. Fans will delight at a nostalgic look back at Phillip's life, relish the behind the scenes stories, and feel touched by the emotional honesty in his writing

—— Northern Life Magazine

Dazzling

—— Evening Standard

Full of anecdotes about onscreen mishaps and meeting the famous

—— Daily Mail

The silver-haired overlord of daytime TV . . . Schofe's candour is admirable

—— Evening Standard

In this soul-bearing autobiography, Phillip looks back on his broadcasting career . . . A frank and highly readable life story

—— Sunday Express

O'Connor brings everything to this memoir

—— Financial Times

Incendiary

—— i

Astonishingly good, wise and hilarious

—— Louise Nealon

Candid, open-hearted . . . a lot of self-deprecation, a lot of laughs, and a measure of honesty that would put most of us to shame

—— Anglo-Celt

Genuinely incredible . . . [Rememberings is] suffused with humour and forgiveness

—— Guardian

There's nothing conventional about Sinéad O'Connor and there's little conventional about her memoir either. . . She writes with searing honesty and plenty of wit

—— Independent

Her complicated life makes for riveting reading. From ripping up photographs of the Pope on prime time US television and her mental health struggles to a rollercoaster spiritual quest, she has never been afraid to be fearless

—— iNews

A deliciously decadent tale of sex, tragedy, celebrity, surfboards and tanned skin in 1980s Malibu.

—— The Times

I absolutely loved her book.... It's an absolute blast to read

—— Alice- Azania Jarvis

JACKIE COLLINS, BUT BETTER Sacrilege to say "better", I know, but there we are. Set in the 1980s, Taylor Jenkins Reid's Malibu Rising is wonderfully written, intensely evocative and concerns the model/ surfer children of a rock star. Tons of glamour, tons of sharply observed insights about sibling relationships, plus a massive party. Beach read par excellence. See also her brilliant Daisy Jones & the Six, which is heaven (more rock stars).

—— Anonymous

When we picked up Malibu Rising, the new novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, we could barely put it down

—— That's Life

You'll never want this book to end, it will suck you in and spit you out!

—— Muddy Stilettos
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