Vivienne Franzman (born 1971) is a British playwright from Walthamstow, whose first play, Mogadishu, was critically acclaimed on its première at the Royal Exchange, Manchester[1] and on its transference to the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith[2] in 2011. Dominic Cavendish of The Telegraph called it "the play of the year".[3] The play, based on her own experiences[4] as a school teacher, starred Julia Ford as a teacher victimised by a student's lies after she tries to protect him.
Her next play, "Pests," opened in March, 2014 in The Royal Exchange, London. “Pests” is the story of two young sisters. Both are heroin addicts, have literacy issues, have been sexually abused as children, have been in prison, had abortions and suffer from mental illness. The lives of these two main characters revolve around violence, unemployment and poverty. Clean Break, a theater company that works with women ex-convicts or those at risk of breaking the law, commissioned the play.[5]