Mogadishu (play)

Mogadishu
Cover of the play text, featuring original cast members Savannah Gordon-Liburd (left) and Malachi Kirby (right)
Original languageEnglish
Written byVivienne Franzmann
Characters8 male, 4 female
SettingA comprehensive secondary school in London
Premiere
Date2011 (2011)
PlaceRoyal Exchange, Manchester
Directed byMatthew Dunster
Original run26 January – 19 February 2011

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. In order to protect himself, the student lies and drags her into a vortex of lies in which victim becomes perpetrator. The play was first produced by Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester before it was transferred to the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, London. It was one of four joint winners of the Bruntwood Playwriting Competition in 2008[1] and the George Devine Award for most promising playwright in 2010.[2]

Plot summary

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

In the meantime, Jason has enlisted his on-and-off girlfriend Dee and his friends Chug, Saif, Jordan and Chloe to back up his story that Amanda pushed him first and racially abused him. They are hesitant at first 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 stepfather, Peter, to tell Amanda to take the situation seriously and contact her union. Refusing to blow the situation out of proportion, Amanda does nothing and is soon suspended when the kids stick to their stories. Even Firat claims that he didn't see what happened.

Amanda feels betrayed by Chris and above all by Jason. Chris calls Jason and his father into school. Jason's father turns out to be quite an intimidating figure; after getting Jason's assurance that he is telling the truth, he demands to know why Chris has not 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 and they eventually agree to do so. While waiting late at night for a phone call to tell him what happened at the police station, Jason is interrupted by his father. His father is furious over breaking the house rules regarding late night phone calls. His father answers a call from Dee and tells her that Jason wets the bed.

Under severe pressure from Becky, Amanda admits that she feels sorry for Jason because his mother killed herself. Becky begs Firat to tell Chris that he saw Amanda get pushed; he agrees and tells the friends this. Jason is furious and he suspects that they did not 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 toward 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, she refuses to accept Dee's apology and tells Chris that she does not want to return to school anymore.

Productions

The play premiered at the Royal Exchange in Manchester on 26 January 2011 and ran until 19 February 2011. It transferred to the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, London for a four-week run from 7 March to 2 April.[3] In 2012, the show was toured across regional theatres in the UK, including at the following venues:

In 2014, a staged reading of Mogadishu was produced at Josephine Louis Theatre of Northwestern University (in the United States) as part of the celebration of Martin Luther King Day (20 January).[12]

Notable casts

Character Original cast[13] UK tour[14][15][16]
2011 2012
AmandaJulia Ford Jackie Clune
JasonMalachi Kirby Ryan Calais Cameron
ChrisIan Bartholomew James Barriscale
PeterChristian Dixon Jason Barnett
BenFrazer James Nicholas Beveney
BeckyShannon Tarbet Rosie Wyatt
SaifFarshid Rokey
ChuggsTendayi Jembere
JordonHammed Animashaun
DeeSavannah Gordon-Liburd
FiratMichael Karim
ChloeTara Hodge

Critical reception

The original Manchester production of the play received generally favourable reviews, with Dominic Cavendish of The Telegraph, in a five-star review, proclaiming, "The play of the year? In my book, quite possibly".[17] On the other hand, WhatsOnStage gave Mogadishu three stars, citing the over the top and rushed nature of the ending, "thus removing any ounce of poignancy".[18]

The play was included in the GCSE Drama curriculum at Teddington School in 2013, leading to outrage from some parents who criticised the play's vulgar language, its dark themes of racism and violence, as well as the depiction of self-harm and suicide.[19] However, there were also parents who supported the inclusion of Mogadishu in the curriculum.[20] Defending teaching of the text at school, Mark Lawson from The Guardian argued, "a play, such as Mogadishu, that contains taboo language, racism and homophobia, can be seen as a good opportunity to discuss with a group of students their own attitudes and methods of expression".[21]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Note
2008 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting Vivienne Franzmann Won One of four joint-winners.[22]
2010 George Devine Award Vivienne Franzmann Won [23]
2011 Evening Standard Theatre Awards Milton Shulman Award for Outstanding Newcomer Malachi Kirby Shortlisted [24]
Charles Wintour Award For Most Promising Playwright Vivienne Franzmann Shortlisted
Manchester Theatre Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role Shannon Tarbet Won Awarded in 2012.[25]
Best New Play Vivienne Franzmann Nominated
2012 WhatsOnStage Awards Best New Play Vivienne Franzmann Nominated [26]
Laurence Olivier Awards Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre Royal Exchange, Manchester and Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith Nominated [27]

References

  1. ↑ "Mogadishu". Bruntwood and Royal Exchange Theater. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  2. ↑ "Mogadishu". official london theatre. p. 1. Archived from the original on 28 November 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  3. ↑ "Mogadishu by Vivienne Franzmann: 26 Jan - 19 Feb 2011". Royal Exchange Theatre. Archived from the original on 27 August 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  4. ↑ "Mogadishu Tours to Liverpool Playhouse, 30 Jan". WhatsOnStage.com. 24 January 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  5. ↑ "What's On | Cambridge Arts Theatre". www.cambridgeartstheatre.com. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  6. ↑ "The school of hard knocks". Oxford Mail. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  7. ↑ Orme, Steve. "Theatre news: News from the Midlands". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  8. ↑ Johnson, John (28 February 2012). "Theatre review: Mogadishu from Royal Exchange/Lyric at Royal & Derngate, Northampton". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  9. ↑ Strapp, Robin (13 March 2012). "Theatre review: Mogadishu from Royal Exchange Manchester and Lyric theatre Hammersmith at Nuffield Theatre Southampton". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  10. ↑ Lathan, Peter (20 March 2012). "Theatre review: Mogadishu from Royal Exchange Manchester and Lyric Theatre Hammersmith at Northern Stage, Newcastle, and touring". British Theatre Guide. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  11. ↑ "Mogadishu - What's on". www.lyric.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 February 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Reading on Jan. 20". news.northwestern.edu. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  13. ↑ Fricker, Karen (9 March 2011). "Mogadishu". Variety. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  14. ↑ "Mogadishu (Liverpool)". WhatsOnStage.com. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  15. ↑ Morley-Priestman, Anne (8 February 2012). "Mogadishu (tour – Cambridge, Arts Theatre)". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  16. ↑ Gray, Christopher (15 February 2012). "Mogadishu: Oxford Playhouse". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  17. ↑ Cavendish, Dominic (3 February 2011). "Mogadishu, Manchester Royal Exchange, review". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 February 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  18. ↑ Meads, Glenn (1 February 2011). "Mogadishu (Manchester)". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  19. ↑ Pettitt, Josh (27 January 2014). "Anger as GCSE students study play full of self-harm, suicide and 218". The Standard. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "Support pours in for Teddington School after effing play causes controversy". Richmond and Twickenham Times. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  21. ↑ Lawson, Mark (3 February 2014). "Students can read Mogadishu without copying its storyline". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  22. ↑ "2008". Bruntwood Prize. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  23. ↑ "From the Archive: BushGreen meets Vivienne Franzmann". Bush Theatre. 3 November 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  24. ↑ Dunn, Carrie (20 November 2011). "EVENING STANDARD THEATRE AWARDS: Winners Include Smith, Cumberbatch, Lee Miller, ONE MAN TWO GUV'NORS, WICKED and MATILDA!". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  25. ↑ "2011 Manchester Theatre Awards - the winners revealed". Great British Life. 3 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  26. ↑ "Full List: 2012 Whatsonstage.com Award winners". WhatsOnStage.com. 19 February 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  27. ↑ "2012 Archives | Official London Theatre". Official London Theatre. Archived from the original on 12 February 2026. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
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