One Summer In Luka [Drama On 3]

Luka, Sumy Oblast, north-east Ukraine, 1993. Vanya and Misha, two childhood friends then in their twenties, are hosting a group of Westerners on exchange. When they both fall in love with the same woman, their friendship is tested to the limit. Slowly the underlying theme emerges: issues of identity, (Russian/Ukrainian) seemingly unimportant at the time.

We move between the emotional events of that summer of 1993 and the political events of 2022, the outbreak of war, and 2023, the anniversary of war, as Nikki - who lived with Vanya's family as an exchange student in 1993 - tries to trace her two friends 30 years on and find out what has become of them and if they are safe.

Nikki - Emma Fielding

Sarah - Jane Slavin

Raisa - Barbara Flynn

Vanya - Julian Rhind-Tutt

Misha - Tom Glenister

Darya - Viv Groskop

Producer/Director: Eoin O'Callaghan

A Big Fish Radio production

The first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompts powerful memories for Nikki.

In Viv Groskop's new play, we move between the emotional events of that summer of 1993 and the political events of 2022, the outbreak of war, and 2023, the anniversary of war, as Nikki - who lived with Vanya's family as an exchange student in 1993 - tries to trace her two friends thirty years on and find out what has become of them and if they are safe.