A Family Affair

On January 19th, 2018 we were pleased to welcome the cast of Vienna’s English Theatre. The play is called „A Family Affair“ and was written by Sean Aita. It’s about two young high school kids and their parents. Danny and Zainab meet at Bournemouth high school. Zainab is a Syrian refugee girl who talks English brilliantly and Danny is a local. She fled to England together with her father. Her mother and brother died back in Syria. Danny volunteers to show Zainab around at school, first they don’t get along so well but after Zainab brings him a present, their friendship begins. Ms. Morris, Zainab’s English teacher, meets her father at a parent’s evening and they fall in love immediately. Zainab and her father get in touch with different kinds of racism but make the best of it, after all. Ms. Morris and Mr. Habib meet in secret until Zainab figures out about their relationship. She tells her friend Danny about it and he tells her about his „little“ secret. Ms. Morris is actually Danny’s mother. Both kids confront their parents and they promise to stop seeing each other. They were totally devastated about that fact but they meet again at a fundraiser at Bournemouth high school and find together again. After some hard feelings about Zainab’s history, the war and bombings, the two families share their lives together.

(J. Vacha)