OnO Theatre Company
High Quality Theatre For Young People
Mzicar
Presented in Autumn 2008 (toured to 14 Schools and 6 Theatres in West Sussex):
Written by Matthew Vaughan
Directed by Gary Sefton
The piece is designed to encourage debate around difference, diversity and bullying.
It is about a young girl called Mzicar who lives with her “father” in the disused underground system. He makes her stay underground to protect her from the people who live above ground who are, he says, different, violent and dangerous. She has lived there since her mother handed her to her “father”/ protector, leaving her at the entrance to the tunnel writing MZICAR on the dirty glass window above her. One day Bradley, a boy from above ground, finds her. She discovers that he is not really that different to her. Who should she believe? What is difference? How can she be secure?
We presented the piece and then lead the audience in discussion about the issues it explores. We worked with the West Sussex Couty Youth Theatre who trained groups of yr 9-11 pupils in each school to work as peer leaders, continuing the workshops for the younger audiences after we had left.
"I felt really sad for Mzicar. It's hard to make tough decisions but I think she did the right thing in the end."
"It made me realise that when I listen to things my friends say about other people, I shouldn't always go along with it. I should make my own decisions."
"The show was excellent. I loved looking at the set, and the sound effects made me feel like I was underground with them!"
Young audiences, Mzicar 2003
"The show was excellent. There were lots of issues which were relevant to PSHE which can be developed throughout the year. Thank you."
"The hot seating after the production was very interesting. The children were keen to ask questions and find out more about the characters. It gave them a chance to piece together some of the parts that were very subtle in the show. A great way to draw them in and really get them thinking about the issues in the play. Thank you!"
"The question and answer session reflected the children's interest and highlighted to our staff the areas to focus upon in follow up work."
“Fantastic! accessible to a wide age range at different levels. A multi-layered hard hitting message.”
Teachers comments
Would you like more information on the project?
Then please contact us at onotheatre@googlemail.com