The Dark is Rising: Young Writers’ Radio Drama

In 2022, our 12-part radio dramatisation of Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising was released on BBC World Service. Adapted for radio by Simon McBurney and author Robert MacFarlane, this classic 1970s novel is now available on BBC Sounds for families to listen and enjoy together, across the world.

Through our Young Writers’ Radio Drama callout, we want to capture the experience of bringing words off the page and to life through sound and share it with young writers who have been inspired by listening to The Dark is Rising to create their own radio plays.

Last year’s winning dramas were Thieves! by Lydia Kolimechkov and The Carpenter’s Flame by Leyla Tompson.

You can listen to the 2024 winning audio dramas below.

Submissions for our 2024 callout are now closed.

Write your own radio play script and have it professionally recorded by Complicité actors and a Sound Designer.

Be inspired by listening to the audio dramatisation of The Dark is Rising and write your own radio play at home over Christmas or in your classroom in the days leading up to your Christmas break.

Take a look at our Guide & Information Pack that includes tips on how to write your radio play

Once your script is ready, send it to creativeengagement@complicite.org by Friday 10 January 2025.

We will turn two of the scripts we receive into radio plays. Voice and narration will be read by Complicité actors and the sound effects will be recorded by a Sound Designer.

Once recorded and sound edited, your radio play will be aired across Complicité’s communication channels for thousands of listeners to hear your story.

Send us an email at creativeengagement@complicite.org with any questions you have.

Listen here

Thieves! The Carpenter’s Flame

Alexander Uzoka, Actor
Archie Backhouse, Actor
Catherine Alexander, Director
Clive Mendus, Actor
Kïren Kebaïli-Dwyer, Actor
Natasha Stone, Actor
Pete Malkin, Sound Designer

“The day in the recording studio with sound designer Peter Malkin, the wonderful cast of actors and the competition winners was a blast. These two fabulous plays by Leyla Tompson and Lydia Kolimechkov are wildly different to each other and rich with life. There was so much in their scripts to discover and have fun with. As a director I wanted to create a collaborative and experimental space in the studio where everybody could help to invent unusual sound effects, create atmosphere and even devise the theme songs together. Seeing Leyla and Lydia’s enjoyment as the actors lifted their words off the page was the best part of the day and I hope that they will be inspired to keep developing as writers.”
Catherine Alexander

“I have always enjoyed writing stories but writing a script was a new thing for me. I found the different style fun and exciting to write, especially as I got to see it turned into an actual radio play! I think the most difficult part of writing the script was writing the climax: it was hard to come up with just the right amount of drama and sadness without it being too extreme. But eventually I was pretty happy with the way the script turned out - by about midnight on the day of the deadline!”
Leyla Tompson

“I feel inspired to write more and enter more competitions! I think meeting people in Complicite was the best part of this. I found it really fun because everyone was so good at doing different voices and had inventive ways to make sound effects!”
Lydia Kolimechkov