Rada: A Drama of War in One Act

In a modest Balkan village on a cold Christmas Eve, the home of the local doctor becomes a makeshift headquarters for two occupying soldiers. The cramped guest‑chamber is lit only by a stubborn flame before an icon of the Madonna, a crackling fire, and a few trembling candles. Inside, Rada, the doctor’s wife, sits weeping beside her twelve‑year‑old daughter while a half‑wit schoolmaster mutters to the embers, and the soldiers, Arram and Michael, drink and trade bitter jokes about the war that surrounds them.

The tension mounts as Rada, torn between grief and a fierce will to survive, offers the soldiers a rumor of hidden money in a nearby mill. Their ruthless banter and the sudden, distant gunshot hint at the fragile line between mercy and cruelty that defines life in occupied territory. Listeners are drawn into a stark, intimate portrait of fear, faith, and the desperate choices forced upon ordinary people when conflict invades the home.