Teacher turns playwright to tell 'everyday' story of false racism claim

A London teacher has written her debut play exposing how innocent teachers can suffer under rigid red tape when faced with allegations by pupils.

But Vivienne Franzmann, 39, of Walthamstow, has defended the rules that govern state schools even though her stage heroine falls victim to them.

Her play, Mogadishu, was inspired by the story of a friend wrongly accused of racial harassment in an inner-city school.

"Every teacher knows of another teacher who has had some false allegations against them," she said.

In the play, the teacher, Amanda, is assaulted by a pupil who then claims racial harassment and whose friends collude to support his claims. Ms Franzmann said: "There are common sense procedures in schools that are pushed aside by protocols. Sometimes they don't seem that helpful but I wouldn't say that I had an overriding sense that they were a problem... I can see everyone's point of view. The play is a moment of crisis handled badly."

Her own experience of teaching in a string of different north London schools over 12 years was that it could be tough.

"But it can also be brilliant as well," she added. "It can be really funny being a teacher and that's what I wanted in my play. Young people laugh all the time.

"So even though it is tough, there is a lot of good stuff."

The play's London premiere will be at the Lyric Hammersmith next year.