Transmissions
XMTR Festival 26: Manhunt in St Leonards: Station
M Cristina Marras and Gianfranco Bitti (IT 2026)
M. Cristina Marras + Gianfranco Bitti (IT, 2026)
8 min
Manhunt at St Leonards-on-Sea is a 7-episode location-based audio drama unlocked via QR codes at historically significant sites across St Leonards-on-Sea. Listeners follow physical traces embedded in the neighbourhood (objects planted in thrift shops, "lost" posters) while characters based on real people observed and documented in the town drift through the plot, blurring fiction and reality until St Leonards itself starts to feel like a film set.
A woman hunts down a con man who stole valuable secrets. They're former lovers. She tracks him using Moscow rules — the private signal system from their relationship, now repurposed as tradecraft.
As part of their XMTR Festival Residency, Cristina and Gianfranco explored St Leonards, weaving in their personal experiences with a big dose of fantasy.
Produced by M.Cristina Marras and Gianfranco Bitto
Commissionned for XMTR Audio Arts Festival 2026