Osama the Hero
Play written by Dennis Kelly
- Gary (Male, seventeen)
- Francis (Male, late twenties)
- Louise (Female, mid-twenties)
- Mandy (Female, fifteen / sixteen)
- Mark (Male, fifty)
Osama the Hero is a three act in-yer-face play by Dennis Kelly. The first two acts were staged as part of the Wild Lunch series by Paines Plough theatre company in May 2004 at London's Young Vic theatre.[1][2] It was subsequently staged in a full production at London's Hampstead Theatre in London in 2005. The provocative title led to police on the doors when it opened, though Kelly has since said "I was a little worried about the title. But, once I'd had the idea of calling it that, it felt cowardly to back away. The police didn't need to be there. The only thing that happened during the run was that a little old lady came up and gave me a telling off. My main worry was that the title would overshadow the play."[3]
Synopsis
Gary, an awkward teenager, writes a school project defending Osama bin Laden, for which he is violently persecuted by his shocked and scared neighbours. The neighbours convince themselves that he is a local vandal and work themselves into a frenzy, leading to a threat to Gary's safety.
Reviews
- Guardian review
- Drama Forum review
- British Theatre Guide Review
- The Stage Review
References
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- t
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Meyer-Whitworth Award
- Roy MacGregor for Our Own Kind (1992)
- Philip Ridley for The Fastest Clock in the Universe (1993)
- Diane Samuels for Kindertransport (1994)
- Terry Johnson for Hysteria and Billy Roche for The Cavalcaders (shared) (1995)
- Michael Wynne for The Knocky (1996)
- Conor McPherson for This Lime Tree Bower (1997)
- Moira Buffini for Gabriel and Daragh Carville for Language Roulette (shared) (1998)
- David Harrower for Kill the Old Torture their Young (1999)
- Kate Dean for Down Red Lane (2000)
- Ray Grewal for My Dad’s Corner Shop (2001)
- Gregory Burke for Gagarin Way and Henry Adam for Among Broken Hearts (shared) (2002)
- Gary Owen for Shadow of a Boy (2003)
- Owen McCafferty for Scenes from the Big Picture (2004)
- Stephen Thompson for Damages (2005)
- Dennis Kelly for Osama the Hero (2006)
- Morna Pearson for Distracted (2007)
- Hassan Abdulrazzak for Baghdad Wedding (2008)
- Ali Taylor for Cotton Wool (2009)
- Natasha Langridge for Shraddha (2010)
- David Ireland for Everything Between Us (2011)
