Mum in a Box
Saba Husain receives an unexpected - and life-changing - box. It contains ‘the life’ of her mum, who she has never met.
As her 30th birthday approaches, Saba Husain receives an unexpected - and life changing - box. It contains ‘the life’ of her mum; never before seen diaries, love letters, poems, photos, voice tapes and more of a person who died when Saba was born, 29 years earlier. With no note or message, it must have been sent by Saba’s father - but why now? Why not before? And what should Saba do with these incredibly intimate pieces of her mother? Saba starts to investigate, asking; how do you get to know your mum - from scratch - through a box of her things?
Mum in a Box follows Saba on the twists and turns of the often unacknowledged experience of a motherless child, piecing together a person through the things they’ve left behind and the revelations they unfold. We join Saba as she works through this totally uncurated box of both overwhelming and underwhelming surprises and the places they take her, travelling through space and time, with no idea of what she’ll find next.
Producer: Christina Hardinge
Co-creator: Saba Husain
Sound Design & Music composition: Noémie Ducimetière
A Falling Tree production for ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4
On radio
Broadcast
- Next Sunday 19:15ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4
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