A Very Personal Story Indeed

I’m forever fascinated by the BBC’s occasional series, Writing the Century, which explores the last century by dramatising the diaries and correspondence of real people.

A recent story, based on the same diaries which Victoria Wood brought to life so brilliantly on TV, even managed to capture a moment of  antisemitism in Barrow-in-Furness at a time when most people  in the town would have never knowingly met Jews.

However this latest drama, to be broadcast next week, is written by Manchester-born writer and actress, Vanessa Rosenthal who must have penned a piece very, very close to her heart.

The first episode of Writing the Century 10 – Tom and Stella explores “the relationship between a young Jewish drama student and a divorce 13 years her senior.

“It is July 1964 and drama student Stella Kaufman travels to Israel on a quest to 'find herself', but is left with more questions than answers”.

I’m going to resist the temptation to spoil the storyline for readers who don’t see the preview in the BBC Radio 4 Newsletter … suffice to note that it is only 1964 and Stella’s stuffy parents don’t give the couple an easy ride.

If anyone reading this knows (or knew ‘Stella Kaufman’) I’d love to discover who she is.

The story runs for five episodes, Monday to Friday as the Woman’s Hour Drama (10.45 a.m.) and is repeated each evening (7.45 p.m.).

 

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