Mogadishu

Vivienne Franzmann

WHO    Chuggs, fifteen, black, from London.

TO WHOM    Saif, fifteen, his best friend, Asian Muslim.

WHERE    Under the stairs in a school in London.

WHEN    Present day.

WHAT HAS JUST HAPPENED    Chuggs is part of Jason’s gang. At the very start of the play they are in their snug, a small space under the stairs at school where they go to smoke weed. As they are laughing and messing about, a Turkish boy, Firat, passes by and accidentally knocks into Jason, causing Jason to burn a hole in his own shirt from his joint. The gang set about Firat, racially abusing him, and Jason pushes him to the ground. As he attempts to beat Firat further, Amanda, a teacher, appears and tries to intervene. Jason, who is by now consumed with anger, pushes her out of the way, and she falls to the floor. There is a distinct change in atmosphere as Jason registers what he has done. Without saying anything he and the other gang members walk coolly away as if nothing has happened. The following day Amanda goes to see the headmaster but is loath to make a formal complaint. She knows it could result in Jason’s permanent exclusion from school, and she wants to prevent this. In the next scene, from which the speech that follows is taken, we are back under the stairs where Chuggs and Saif are smoking a spliff.

WHAT TO CONSIDER

•	Chuggs is often the butt of jokes.
•	He is not as quick-witted as the others and is sometimes slow to understand.
•	He is highly sensitive, and later on in the play he feels forced to defend himself. He tells Saif, ‘You always think you’s better than me. You’s always takin’ the piss. You’s think I don’t know, cos you think I’m so fuckin’ thick. Well, I ain’t.’
•	His backstory. We do not know much about Chuggs’ life outside school and the gang. You may like to use this opportunity to build a fully rounded character for yourself, making up details about his family and experiences. Beware of playing him as a stereotype.

WHAT HE WANTS

•	To entertain and to impress Saif.
•	To show his intelligence over Emmanuel.
•	To prove to Saif that he is not thick.

KEYWORDS  steaming  proper  crease  sick

Chuggs

So we’s outside Chickstop and she comes steaming over. […] She goes, ‘Whose dog is this?’ And I go, ‘What’s it got to do with you?’ And she gets this badge out and goes, ‘I am an RSPCA inspector.’ So I goes, ‘It’s my mum’s.’ She goes, ‘What’s it called?’ And I go, ‘Jackie Chan’. And she goes, ‘What breed is it?’ And I go, ‘Japanese Akita Inu.’ And she goes, ‘That’s a very expensive breed.’ So I goes, ‘What you tryin’ to say?’ And she goes, ‘I’m just sayin’ it’s a very expensive breed.’ And then Emmanuel comes out with Tyson who jumps up at her. And starts going proper mad at her. Like proper going at her, like it wants to kill her. And Emmanuel is laughin’ and Tyson’s got all this spit and shit round his mouth and every time Emmanuel pulls him back, he jumps back at her. And I’m tryin’ to tell him that she the RSPCA lady. And she goes, ‘He needs a muzzle.’ And DeShaun goes, ‘What about the dog?’ And I crease, man. It was sick, man. And she gets that badge out again and shows Emmanuel and tells him she from the RSPCA and he needs to control his dog. And Tyson’s still going for her. And Emmanuel shits himself and thinks the RSPCA lady will take Tyson if he don’t control it so he gets this stick and starts hittin’ him round the face. It was well bad.