Featuring true tales from a Palestinian and a Ukrainian, Battersea Arts Centre’s importation of the French theatre project Radio Live: A New Generation couldn’t be more timely. This intriguing multimedia production from journalist Aurélie Charon and director Amélie Bonnin takes us beyond the headlines of war by handing the microphone to those who have directly experienced it. What results is a fantastic piece of documentary storytelling.
In fact, watching Radio Live: A New Generation is very much like watching a documentary, just one that’s being brought to life in front of you. The central part of the production is an unscripted dialogue between journalist Charon and two interviewees: Oksana Lueta, a Ukrainian jack-of-all-trades now working with foreign journalists on the front line; and Amir Hassan, a warm Gazan poet and journalist who emigrated to France but became stuck in Palestine during the war. Charon’s questions prompt anecdotes and reflections from the two subjects, which are interspersed with a variety of multimedia material, ranging from projected maps to film footage to live and recorded music and even a video call to Oksana’s mum.
What makes Radio Live: A New Generation so compelling is undoubtedly Oksana and Amir. They’re both good raconteurs, thoughtful and good-humoured, and as they weave through the stories of their lives, from childhood through to the tragedies of war, they are incredibly watchable. They are both just downright interesting people, even aside from their devastating circumstances: Oksana is a polyglot and an actress and Amir was reading poetry on Palestinian TV in his teens. Allowing these two the space to simply talk about their lives proves to be a very powerful thing, and a clever choice on the part of Charon and Bonnin.
The multimedia aspects of Radio Live: A New Generation are a bit more hit and miss, working both for and against the show. At times they add a wonderful depth and colour to Oksana and Amir’s stories, drawing us into their worlds with touches like a song from their childhood or a recorded interview with a teacher. The live musical accompaniment from the wonderfully talented Emma Prat is a joy. Equally though, there are times where the format feels a little too formal; the need to push us along to the next prepared item limits a conversation that might flow better if allowed to wander into more tangents.
But still, the bells and whistles cannot detract from the fantastic simplicity of listening to two interesting people talk about their incredibly interesting lives. Radio Live: A New Generation is enormously compelling and moving, too, but in a pared back way that only makes its impact stronger.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
