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MOJO

by JEZ BUTTERWORTH

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"Look at it. What do you think it is? It's the kid's head isn't it? It's the kid's head. It's the fucking kid's nut isn't it... Look at it. Perfect size. It's his nut... Look it's his fucking head. It's his fucking head in a box... We're finished. We are finished..."

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A brutally funny journey through the seedy, amphetamine-fuelled, Rock’n’Roll underbelly of 1950s London. Mojo follows a hapless gang of would-be gangsters, seduced by the promise of fame and fortune, fighting for control of the next big Rock’n’Roll sensation, teenage singer, Silver Johnny.  

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A sensational collision of Tarantino-esque shock and Jacobean revenge, the story starts with the discovery of a jealous nightclub owner's body sawn in half... and then things start to get sticky. Alternately hilarious and terrifying, Mojo is the play that won Butterworth an Olivier Award and kickstarted a new wave of British crime genre pieces including Guy Ritchie's popular flick Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

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Ostensibly his first professional play, Mojo cemented Butterworth as a brilliant new voice in English Theatre. The linguistic verve and audacity of observation that are so prevalent in Mojo, have defined Butterworth's plays for years to come. He is a writer of searing tenacity and his plays crackle with tension and wit.

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Mojo was first performed at the Jerwood Theatre downstairs at the Royal Court Theatre on 14 July, 1995.