A Holy Man

A Holy Man is a story of two secrets; one held by adults and the other guarded by two children. It’s set in a rural village in the New Territories in Hong Kong in 1943, during the Japanese occupation, and in 1953.

Through events in time, we begin to share the two secrets; to understand the connection between an atrocity at the village well in the war, and the discovery of a strange man living in the hills above, ten years later.

The protagonist – Ling, a girl aged 10 – holds a life in her hands at the end.

A Holy Man is part reflective, part suspenseful and touches on still-lingering tensions that date back 70 years.


A Holy Man, as a radio script, was a finalist in the
BBC Radio Playwriting Competition 2012