The Wall in the Mind – New Drama Series Coming Early 2016

The Wall in the Mind is an upcoming radio drama series on Newstalk, launching early 2016. Claire O’Hanlon, a young Irish woman, became caught up in the events sweeping East Berlin just prior to the fall of the Berlin wall. Arrested at a pro-democracy protest, Claire and her friends were imprisoned by the East German […]

The Wall in the Mind is an upcoming radio drama series on Newstalk, launching early 2016.

Claire O’Hanlon, a young Irish woman, became caught up in the events sweeping East Berlin just prior to the fall of the Berlin wall. Arrested at a pro-democracy protest, Claire and her friends were imprisoned by the East German secret police. Twenty-five years later, now a successful academic, Claire returns to Berlin. She attempts to finally heal, and to resolve the mystery of what happened to her first love, Emil, who disappeared in 1989.

The Wall in the Mind is an exciting historical drama series, coming to Newstalk in 2016. The series combines a variety of innovative storytelling and sound production techniques to create a thrilling drama linked to real historic events. Listeners travel back and forth in time, as Claire tries to make sense of her experiences as a teenager in communist East Berlin and to solve the mystery of her vanished first love, Emil.

Writer / Director Gareth Stack travelled to Berlin to research the historic locations featured in the series. There he explored the ruins of the paramilitary police barracks, where on 7th and 8th October 1989 hundreds of East German protestors were held in one of the last desperate acts of a tyrannical regime. Thousands marched as the communist government faced revolution on the streets.Those unlucky enough to be arrested were tortured by the notorious ‘Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft’ paramilitary police. These events inspired a story that explores the marks history leaves on the lives of ordinary people.

The drama is brought to life by stunning performances by leads Mia Gallagher as Claire in 2014 and Jasmin Gleeson as Claire in 1989. These roles were developed over weeks of rehearsals with the cast, who all worked ‘off book’ to create a naturalistic compelling drama.

Using extensive foley, on location recording, as well as binaural microphones and cassette recordings, The Wall in the Mind captures the paranoia of one of the darkest moments in the Cold War. The Wall in the Mind is a richly developed story, featuring strong female lead characters, leading to a shocking conclusion. This is a mystery that brings us right into the world of the most surveilled society in history.

Funded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the television licence fee.

Download: The Wall in the Mind – Trailer

The show will be available on Soundcloud and on Dead Medium [iTunes, RSS], the new podcast featuring the best drama, documentary, comedy and sound art from Dead Medium Productions.

If you’d like more information about this upcoming series or any of our other productions, including the award winning documentary ‘Mad Scientists of Music’, get in touch via mail or on twitter.