{"id":24875,"date":"2026-06-24T23:06:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T21:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=24875"},"modified":"2026-06-24T23:06:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T21:06:59","slug":"award-winning-safm-drama-department-ready-to-broadcast-competition-winning-audio-drama-by-stephen-spling-aspeling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2026\/06\/24\/award-winning-safm-drama-department-ready-to-broadcast-competition-winning-audio-drama-by-stephen-spling-aspeling\/","title":{"rendered":"Award-Winning SAfm Drama Department Ready to Broadcast Competition-Winning Audio Drama by Stephen ‘Spling’ Aspeling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Following its success in the prestigious SAfm National Playwriting Competition, Stephen ‘Spling’ Aspeling\u2019s second-prize-winning audio drama has been officially produced by SAfm\u2019s award-winning drama department. The highly anticipated production is scheduled for national broadcast on Saturday, 27 June 2026, at 21:00.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SAfm National Playwriting Competition has a long-standing reputation for discovering and nurturing exceptional South African storytelling. Aspeling, a well-known film critic and writer popularly known as “Spling,” secured second place in the competition, capturing the judges’ attention from about 650 entries with his compelling narrative and atmospheric scriptwriting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Close to Home’ is a psychological thriller that centres on Ava, a 42-year-old author and divorced mother who travels from Cape Town to a coastal village in the Eastern Cape. Seeking solitude to finish her book and heal, she retreats to her family’s seaside holiday home – only to find she’s still haunted by the very past she’s trying to escape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brought to life by SAfm\u2019s seasoned drama team – internationally recognised for their high-quality audio engineering, sound design and dramatic direction\u2014the production promises to deliver a rich, immersive sonic experience for listeners across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n

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“I’m incredibly proud that my script was picked to be produced and broadcast,” said Aspeling. While scriptwriters didn’t have creative oversight beyond the scriptwriting process, he’s confident that SAfm’s experienced team has produced something special that leans into the depth, tension and unique South African flavour of this story. Now an audio drama, Aspeling hopes to adapt the story to film and is currently in post-production with a short film adaptation, a co-production between Cinuwav Productions and Spling Movies, thanks to a talented filmmaking team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contained conceptual thriller scripts are currently selling in Hollywood and Aspeling hopes their short film serves as a proof of concept to land a feature film deal, allowing the team to adapt ‘Close to Home’ into a full-length movie. “I wrote the short film script as a way to compartmentalise the core of the audio drama. The story has been brewing in my mind as a feature for several years and the SAfm competition motivated me to crystallise the idea and use it as a litmus test. I was inspired by Locke, a film that functions as an audio drama. If the story works well as an audio drama, adding visuals could only enhance the existing narrative. It was important that the short film also work as a standalone piece. It hinges on the central concept but has a much sharper focus.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listeners can tune into the broadcast live on SAfm (104-107 FM), via the SABC+ streaming platform, or live-stream through the official SAfm website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Broadcast Details<\/h4>\n\n\n\n