Radio Times: Review by:; Laurence Joyce

Earnest, well-meaning but flawed priest Father Philip Meade (Jonathan Firth), earmarked for advancement by the Vatican, is asked by a member of his church, Maria, to help secure the release of her father Max Blin (David Calder), a dissident imprisoned by the oppressive Lukashenko regime in Belarus.

Max is being held in a cell with a man suffering from tuberculosis — along with a string quartet and a pianist by the sound of it. Philip, being the earnest, well-meaning but flawed priest that he is, takes the problem to his spiritual superior, Monsignor Gardiner, who advises restraint and caution.

But the revelations that follow elevate Hugh Costello’s drama from what at first appears to be a fairly innocuous pop at the Catholic Church to a surprising exploration of individual morality and the consequences of our actions. Favourite line: “What would John Paul II have done?”

About this programme

By Hugh Costello. A suburban London priest sees his promising career in the diocese derail when he decides to bring the case of a Belarusian dissident to the attention of his superiors. Drama, starring Jonathan Firth, Lia Williams and David Calder.