ZOSIA Wand is one of the region’s most successful creative writers.

With several radio and stage plays already under her belt, her latest work The Treehouse, is broadcast on a primetime BBC Radio Four slot from next Monday-Friday, May 12-16 (10.45am, repeated 7.45pm).

The thriller is set in Zosia’s hometown of Ulverston and based around a group of Ulverston friends who were involved in a tragedy during their youth which has affected all their lives. It is also a story of a love affair that was never realised.

Key locations in Ulverston are mentioned in the 15-minute serial and sound effects were recorded on location at the Thursday market, Ulverston Victoria High School, Ulverston Station, St Mary's Parish Church and Hoad Hill.

The Treehouse has a five star acting line-up and includes Jason Done, who played Tom Clarkson in Waterloo Road; Lee Ingleby, best known as Bacchus in television’s George Gently (and the bus conductor on the purple bus in Harry Potter); Emma Cunniffe, who was in the Jimmy McGovern-penned The Lakes series; and William Ash, last seen on the small screen as Beggsy in the recent ITV comedy drama Great Night Out.

Zoe’s story tells of Clare who returns after 19 years to Ulverston and is shocked to discover the treehouse where her brother, Mark, died, is still there. Furious, she scrawls the message ‘He deserved it’ on the treehouse. As his remaining friends respond, it becomes clear Clare is not the only one with something to hide. As the friends Julie, Guy, India and Divvie gather back at the treehouse, the truth about Mark, and what really happened that night, is finally revealed.

Zosia said she was really excited that there will be a drama set in Ulverston on Radio 4. She added: “It felt exciting to hear local street names and locations mentioned in the dialogue while it was being recorded. We don't often have drama on the radio set in Cumbria, let alone Ulverston. And I have grown fond of these characters. They are as real to me now as members of my family, and their story matters to me. I hope they will touch people and I'm looking forward to hearing what people think.”

Produced by Nadia Molinari, each of the five episodes opens with a monologue from one of the characters that continues through the episode, interwoven with fragments of memory and dramatic scenes unfolding in the present.

Zosia - a founding member of Word Market, the writers and readers project for south Cumbria - is on a creative roll with a major new adaptation of Hansel and Gretel pencilled in as this year’s spectacular outdoor summer production for The Dukes at Lancaster.

“I'm happily up to my ears in Hansel and Gretel and other Tales From the Forest for the Dukes,” explains Zosia. “It's lovely seeing it come together, working with the composer, incorporating his songs, seeing the designs, visiting the locations and planning the finale. This is the biggest thing I've ever worked on. A cast of seven, 13 characters, five locations. A family show which will run for six weeks from the beginning of July to an audience of up to 550 per night.

“It's funny, it's touching, it's scary and romantic in places and it's full of energy. I'm having great fun.”