History Snapshot:
Listen to Your Parents
A part-autobiographical play by Benjamin Zephaniah
“Long may you live, long may you be wicked, long may you be cool!”
Throughout our history of championing powerful and bold voices, one play which stands out is the provocative and harrowing play Listen to Your Parents by the late poet – and national treasure – Benjamin Zephaniah.
Written for four actors and produced at Nottingham Playhouse in 2022, the play follows 11-year-old Mark, would be poet and professional footballer, through the week prior to his big chance: a try out at Villa Park.
Lyrical and evocative, Listen to Your Parents explores what it means to have big dreams but limited means, and is unflinching in its portrayal of dark topics including domestic violence. Throughout the play, Mark listens from the solitude of his bedroom as his father grows increasingly violent towards his mother:
“Why does Maria Shah taste of backed beans? Why do preachers shout when Jesus was so relaxed and chilled? Why does Dad hit Mum so hard that you can see her bruises in the dark?”
Listen to Your Parents was part-autobiographical, as Zephaniah spoke publicly about how his father used beat his mother.
In 2007, the play was adapted for BBC Radio. In 2003, for Theatre Centre’s 50th Birthday, Zephaniah said:
“For years I lived in ignorance, unaware of the wonders of the east, and then I came upon it in a narrow street in London E1. Theatre Centre. They took my play and done wicked ting with it, and I loved them. I wanted to love them all individually but then I was told that was illegal, now I love them as a company, a great group of people who are making theatre relevant to young people and are not frightened to deal with challenging issues.
Happy Birthday Theatre Centre! Long may you live, long may you be wicked, long may you be cool!”
Photos from the 2002 production of Listen to Your Parents
