Osama the Hero

Synopsis

Osama the Hero is a visceral and urgent exploration of what can happen when an individual dares to see the world differently in a climate of seemingly universal tension. Gary is a teenage boy who unintentionally provokes those around him, both in the classroom and on the estate. When an act of violence unsettles the community, it is him who takes the blame. Osama the Hero contains scenes of violence and strong language.

Our Review:

10 May 2005

The title of Dennis Kelly's latest was considered provocative enough to have four police officers stationed outside the Hampstead on the opening night. Does the north London venue have a Behzti on its hands (See News, 20 Dec 2004)? Fortunately not, though there is still plenty to unsettle in Kelly's chilling look at the paranoia and mistrust routinely whipped up in our current climate of fear.

Set on a rundown housing estate, Osama the Hero revolves around four working-class characters whose hysterical over-reaction to a supposed terrorist incident is to exact horrific retribution on its alleged perpetrator. Their victim is Gary (Tom Brooke), a 17-year-old misfit whose ill-considered classroom eulogy to Osama Bin Laden makes him the likeliest suspect. Okay, so there's no tangible evidence linking him to an explosion in a neighbour's lock-up. But as angry chav Louise (Rachel Sanders) points out, "You don't need evidence for terr...

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