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Mischa Niering in his Chickenshed days |
Tragedy of drama student
Stage story of a teenage victim showing at Edinburgh Festival
THE tragic tale of a teenage jewel thief killed during a police chase through Belgravia has been recreated for the stage.
Mischa Niering died instantly after crashing his scooter in Cadogan Place while fleeing a botched £5 million heist on luxury jewellers Tiffany’s in 2005.
The police car tailing him dragged his body for 15 yards.
His aorta was severed, his skull torn open and he died instantly. He was 19.
An inquest into his death at Westminster Coroner’s court in March heard that the police had driven dangerously – sparking a review of procedure.
But the play – As the Mother of a Brown Boy – voiced through a series of monologues written by his mother and co-directed by Mischa’s aunt, Christine Niering, points the finger squarely at society.
It asks why a promising drama student, at the Chickenshed Theatre in north London, where the play has been created, was sucked back into the gang life.
Christine Niering said she hoped the play, showing at the Edinburgh Festival this week, would serve as a lasting legacy – and with a national tour in the pipeline “maybe even change things”.
She said: “His mother has told me that the play makes her feel that he did not die in vain.
“Mischa dragged himself out of what seemed to be a negative environment – he used to get into trouble at school – and into a positive one – he became a student of the arts. What we wanted to express is why he was sucked back in. It is to do with what we perceive to be positive environments not offering what young, in this case, black teenagers want. There was always going to be a side to Mischa that wanted to take risks. He found that with the gang.”
She added: “I was talking to his mates and they said something that we have written into the play. They said that despite the new focus of his life he still had something to prove, but that in time he would let it go. He let it go when he died.
“You have to look at the justice system. The other guys who were on that job are in prison. You have to look at the environment they are in now and ask how many of them will reoffend. It is the same with Asbos – once you have slapped that label on someone it is really hard to move forward.
“This is one boy we do know about – but there are millions of stories thhat we don’t know about. We have to think about it because there will be more mothers losing their sons. We are looking at the ‘system’ and the structures that are supposedly in place to protect the public.
“The simple thing is to provide drama, dance and music and give them a chance to express their anxieties.”
The innovative production, using music, dance, physical theatre and told through a series of monologues by Mischa’s mother is showing in Edinburgh all week. |
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