Mogadishu (play)

Mogadishu is the debut play by ex-school teacher Vivienne Franzmann concerning a white teacher who tries to protect her black student from expulsion after he pushes her to the ground, but in order to protect himself the student lies and drags her into a vortex of lies in which victim becomes perpetrator. It was first produced by Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester before it was transferred to the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, London. The play recently came was one of four joint inners of the Bruntwood Playwriting Competition and the George Devine Award 2011.^[1]

Plot Summary

In a tough London secondary school teacher, Amanda, is pushed to the ground by black student, Jason, when she tries to intervene in a fight between him and a younger foreign student Firas. Ignoring her daughter Becky's advice to report him she resists from telling the Headmaster, Chris, for fear of ruining his future and knowing his history, one which she refuses to reveal to Becky, she feels sorry for him. Finally persuaded, she mentions this to Chris the next day who is suspicious of why she has waited so long.

Jason meanwhile has enlisted his on off girlfriend Dee and friends Chug, Saif, Jordan and Chloe to back up his story that Amanda pushed him first and racially abused him. They are resistant for a while but soon change their minds, Chris is forced to take the claims seriously and sends Amanda home.

Becky is enraged at their lies and turns to her black step father Peter to support her, telling Amanda to take the situation seriously and contact her union. Refusing to blow the situation out of proportion she doesn't, but is soon suspended as the kids stick to their stories with even Firas admitting he didn't see what happened.

Amanda feels betrayed by Chris and above all Jason. Chris calls Jason and his father into school, Jason's father turns out to be quite an intimidating figure but after getting Jason's assurance that he is telling the truth demands to know why Chris hasn't yet reported the incident to the police. Chris agrees to do so.

Jason asks his friends to go to the police to volunteer a statement against Amanda, they eventually agree to do so. Waiting late at night for their phonecall to tell him what happened at the station his father interrupts him and is furious at him for breaking house rules over late night phone calls answering a call from Dee and telling her that Jason wets the bed.

Under severe pressure from Becky Amanda admits the reason that she feels sorry for Jason is because his mother killed himself. Becky then begs Firas to tell Chris that he saw Amanda be pushed and not the other way round, he agrees and tells the friends this. Jason is furious and suspects that they didn't really go to the police, after a fight where he slaps Dee they desert him.

Becky confronts Jason alone in the playground and reveals that her own father killed himself, hanging himself with a Homer Simpson tie she had given him for Christmas, Jason is cold towards this revelation even when she reveals scars across her legs and arms from self harm. They argue furiously and Becky taunts him over his dead mother.

The friends led by Dee admit to having lied to Chris who can then drop the charges. Jason is seen in his house making a noose for himself in the kitchen and hanging himself. Amanda returns to school but betrayed by the system she put so much faith in refuses to accept Dee's apology and tells Chris that she doesn't want to return to school anymore.

Production

The play's premiere was at the Royal Exchange in Manchester before transferring to the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, London. It received generally very favourable reviews with Dominic Cavendish of The Telegraph^[2] saying; The play of the year? In my book, quite possibly. In manchester originally performed in the round the same design by Tom Scutt was used in the London production.

References