Day 1

Mermaid’s Tears, read by author Virginia Baily and actor Farida Abdel Aziz.

A desperate fisherman stumbles along the littered banks of the Nile and encounters the siren-like El Naddaha of Arabic folklore. Will she lure him into the water?

(English version)

(Arabic version)

Day 2

The Fisherman, narrated by science writer and editor Oliver Morton and actor Hana Iskander.

A fisherman confronts the grim reality of the impact that pollution is having upon his catch. And he chooses to act…

(English version)

(Arabic version)

Day 3

Déjà Vu, read by the UK’s High Level Climate Action Champion Nigel Topping and actor Farida Abdel Aziz.

A city running out of water, a population gripped by thirst and panic.

(English version)

(Arabic version)

Day 4

A Crack in the Sky, read by Shraddha Chaudhary, Assistant Director (Culture and Inclusion), at the University and actor Hana Iskander.

Save the planet or save your family? A young woman questions her future and is caught between pursuing her dream of campaigning for change or marrying into wealth.

(English version)

(Arabic version)

Day 5

Live by the River, narrated by Graham Mitchell, a BAFTA-nominated showrunner and TV writer, and actor Zeina Rostom.

Against a seemingly overwhelming, unending tide of marine litter, a man finds the inspiration needed to “save this beautiful world”.

(English version)

(Arabic version)

Day 6

Survival, read by Dr Bharat Pankhania, Senior Clinical Lecturer in the Exeter Medical School, and actor Haneen El Demerdash.

Launching from William Blake’s famous poem, a girl is transfixed by her grandfather’s memory of a tiger and knows that it is her destiny to save them.

(English version)

(Arabic version)

Day 7

Air Like Water narrated by freelance artist, poet and writer – and English and Fine Art graduate – Kim Squirrell, and actor Seif Behairy.

A family toils in their polluted rice paddy. A desperate, angry plea for change in the face of overwhelming hardship.

(English version)

(Arabic version)

Day 8

Resurrection, read by Adam Marple, Associate Professor of Directing at The American University in Cairo, and Co-Artistic Director of the internationally recognized Theatre of Others, and actor Youssef Fahmy.

The impacts of climate change unearth a hidden history as river levels fall. Memories and lives coalesce in the Global North and South.

(English version)

(Arabic version)

Day 9

Adham and the Dream of Nu, narrated by singer and pianist Tasneem Elaidy.

Sometimes the hardest step to take is the first. A son knows he must break family tradition to pursue his calling at university, but how does he break the news?

(English version)

Day 10

Wait Here, read by Noah Hall, Year 7 student at Isca Academy School, Exeter, and actor Haneen El Demerdash.

Little Mariam waits alone in her house for her mother to return with water. And she waits…

(English version)

(Arabic version)

Day 11

The Age of Reason, narrated by journalist and musician John Robb, and actor Zeina Rostom.

Trust children to question the nature of things. ‘Where have all the sparrows gone?’ asks Hashem.

(English version)

(Arabic version)

Day 12

Aish Baladi, read by Conrad Humphreys, professional yachtsman and Founder of Sport Environment, Nour Beblawy, Expressive Arts Therapist and actress, and actor Youssef Fahmy.

A cataclysmic event brings trauma to a remote village. But even here, the cycle of life continues.

Conrad’s version (English)

Nour’s version (English)

Youssef’s version (Arabic)