A Broken Order

Available for over a year

Inspired by true events. As the Bishop withholds new members from joining a small convent, its days appear numbered. Determined to shrink the community and dissolve the order, the Bishop moves to close their home, threatening their peaceful way of life and forcing the sisters to confront an impossible choice - obedience or defiance. Into their small community comes Vic Siffer, an outsider introduced by the Bishop, whose presence opens Sister Marie, the Mother Superior’s eyes to a world beyond their convent walls. Vic confirms a buried legal technicality could offer a glimmer of hope, a loophole that could free them from episcopal control. However, Sister Clara is uncomfortable with the influence Vic is having on Sister Marie. What follows tests the limits of canon law and religious obedience, as the nuns begin to take matters into their own hands. Their resistance takes an audacious and unexpected turn, carrying them far beyond the cloister into a world of flashy sports cars, casinos, racehorses and sudden freedom. Faith, loyalty and institutional power collide as the sisters fight to preserve their order, their home and their shared identity. Written by Amelia Bullmore, whose credits include the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize-winning play Mammals, and television writing on This Life and Scott & Bailey. Produced by Eloise Whitmore and Tony Churnside, the team behind Money Gone and Collapsing Orbits. Sister Clara - Shirley Henderson Sister Marie - Helen Schlesinger The Bishop - Finbar Lynch Vic Siffer - Bryan Dick Sister Isabelle - Sara Kestelman Sister Caterina - Shelley King Sister Colette - Richenda Carey Priest/Police Officer - Michael Shelford Writer - Amelia Bullmore Story Consultant - Gilles Aufrey Production Manager - Sally Richardson Director - Tony Churnside Producer - Eloise Whitmore Executive Producer - Melanie Harris A Naked production for BBC Radio 4