Dictatorship (On the Latch)

In a cluttered prosecutor’s office under an unnamed authoritarian regime, a paranoid Citizen arrives to confess a crime he hasn’t committed, driven by the pervasive fear of punishment in a society where guilt is assumed. The weary Prosecutor, drowning in bureaucratic paperwork, initially dismisses him but is drawn into a surreal confrontation as the Citizen insists on being arrested. Their tense exchange is interrupted by the arrival of a self-righteous Judge and a conflicted Journalist, both wrestling with their own complicity in the system. Meanwhile, Lamara, the cleaner, critiques the corruption around her while clinging to her role in maintaining order.
Overseeing it all is a philosophical Fly—a symbol of collective memory and silent witness—who narrates the absurdity of the regime. Through fragmented monologues, the Fly reveals the characters’ hidden fears, hypocrisy, and the absurdity of their self-imposed imprisonment within a system they simultaneously uphold and despise. As tensions escalate, the characters barricade themselves in the office, mirroring the psychological traps of dictatorship: fear, paranoia, and the illusion of control.

The winning radio play of the 2009 BBC International Radio Play Competition.