Education Blog

Calling all teachers…

I wanted to let you know about a great show coming up at Warwick Arts Centre from Tue 21 – Sat 25 Feb. Mogadishu is a timely, relevant, urban play, which explores the clash of youth, class, race and justice, which is particularly interesting for teachers as it is written by teacher Vivienne Franzmann and has a teacher as the central character.

“After 12 years working as a teacher, she clearly revels in the humour of young urban pupils – their street-talk and abundant swearing – and their banter is one of the most enjoyable parts of the play… A must-see for teachers.” TES 18 March 2011. Read the full article here: http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6073403

The play of the year? Quite possibly.” ***** The Daily Telegraph

The Story:
When white secondary school teacher Amanda is pushed to the ground by a black student Jason, she’s reluctant to report him as she knows exclusion could condemn him to a future as troubled as his past. But when Jason decides to protect himself by spinning a story of his own, Amanda is sucked into a vortex of lies in which victim becomes perpetrator. With the truth becoming less clear and more dangerous by the day, it isn’t long before careers, relationships and even lives are under threat.

Directed by Matthew Dunster, Mogadishu was staged by the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester and London’s Lyric Hammersmith. Highly acclaimed, it was nominated for Best New Play at the Theatre Awards UK 2011 and also won the 2008 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting.

“I always wanted to write a play and one night I went to dinner with a friend of mine who had experienced a false accusation and we were speaking about the impact of it. I used the idea as my starting point. She is an amazing teacher who is very warm and generous and I thought if this could happen to her, it could happen to any of us. I started thinking about students who accuse teachers and their motivations, and became really interested in what might lead other students to collude with them. I spoke to different people about their experiences and the ways in which different schools responded to false allegations. Everyone agreed that it was a really difficult and stressful experience.
In talking to colleagues, I think most teachers in urban schools know of at least one person who has experienced this. I think it’s a hard one for schools to deal with, because obviously allegations have to be taken seriously and there are procedures in place that need to be adhered to. I think it’s an interesting contemporary idea that young people today are keenly aware of their rights and the play explores what happens when this knowledge is abused.” Vivienne Franzmann

I can also highly recommend meeting the brilliant cast and finding out more about the production at the Post Show Talk on Wed 22nd Feb. Being gritty in nature, Mogadishu is recommended for ages 14+. If you would like to book tickets for you, your pupils or other colleagues please do so by calilng the box office: 024 7652 4524.