We’re excited to announce the launch of More Than One Story, a short film series in partnership with The Big Issue, set to premiere in June 2024.
For this project, we’ve commissioned nine industry leading writers, each with personal experience of homelessness, poverty or inequity. Sonali Bhattacharyya, Debbie Hannan, Charlie Josephine, Kayleigh Llewellyn, Errol McGlashan, Neetu Singh, Chris Sonnex, Naomi Westerman, and Roy Williams bring their diverse perspectives to pen monologues that challenge the stereotypes, generalisations and misconceptions around homelessness in the UK today.
More people than ever before are facing homeless in the UK: 2023 saw a 14% increase in homeless people in England living in council-arranged temporary accommodation, and overall core homelessness rates in the UK are anticipated to be 20% higher than in 2020*. Hundreds of thousands of people across the country have no place to call home, and each of their experiences is different.
More than One Story will shine a light on the diverse intersectional factors that cause and exacerbate homelessness. For example, in the UK, Black people are over three times more likely to experience homelessness compared to other ethnic groups (Heriot-watt University, 2022), and a quarter of young homeless people identify as LGBTQIA+ (The Trevor Project, 2022).
By sharing these narratives from various perspectives such as violence and domestic abuse, overcrowded accommodation and the experiences of the queer, Black and migrant communities, we aim to amplify voices frequently overshadowed by the statistics. Cardboard Citizens’ goal is to raise awareness and encourage audiences to actively contribute to reshaping the narrative surrounding homelessness.
Filmed at the historic Hoxton Hall, Citz’s soon-to-be new home, these monologues will be brought to life by people with lived experience of homelessness, poverty of inequity, many of them Members of the Cardboard Citizens community. Under the direction of our Artistic Director, Chris Sonnex and in collaboration with Black Apron Entertainment, these films aim to authentically capture the multiple realities of homelessness.
Introducing the More Than One Story monologues:
Oswald Boateng, If You Must by Roy Williams
Sabbir At The Estate Agents by Sonali Bhattacharyya
No Walls, Still Trapped by Errol McGlashan
Boiling Frogs by Kayleigh Llewellyn
And For Once, I Just Let It Be Nice by Charlie Josephine
Sandwiches by Naomi Westerman
The Surviving Room by Neetu Singh
Snakes and Landlords by Debbie Hannan
This Is What It Means by Chris Sonnex
"Many of us with lived experience of homelessness know all too well that there are many variables outside of us that create these inequities. This is why we have commissioned a raft of fearless and talented writers to help us better interrogate the systemic failings and biases that lead to the stark division between the haves and the have nots. We’re collaborating with writers who understand homelessness, poverty and inequity from the inside, who can bring stories that are so often hidden from view into the light with an authenticity that resonates with their own experiences."
Chris Sonnex, Artistic Director & Joint CEO"I have such huge admiration for the work Cardboard Citizens is doing to break down the stigma, shame and barriers that can face those who’ve experienced homelessness. It’s something that has touched my own life, and I only wish I’d had a resource like this to turn to. I’m honoured now to contribute in a small way to the change they are fighting for."
Kayleigh Llewellyn, writer of Boiling FrogsCardboard Citizens is moving to Hoxton!
Next month, Citz will be moving from our current premises on Greenfield Road in Tower Hamlets to Hoxton Works in Hackney, home to a network of creative businesses and charities in East London. Situated in the same Grade II listed building as the historic Hoxton Hall, Citz will be taking on two spaces on the first floor of Hoxton Works – a staff office and a Members’ workshop space. Alongside our tenancy at Hoxton Works, we’ll have some access to the music hall and to Hoxton Hall’s professional rehearsal rooms and studios.
Built in 1863, Hoxton Hall has a rich history of community engagement and performance by and for people with experience of homelessness and poverty. With our Members having performed on the Hoxton Hall stage in December and More than One Story being filmed there, we are already embracing the iconic venue and its history as an inspiring backdrop for our work.
More Than One Story is generously supported by the Linbury Trust, Arts Council England and the John Ellerman Foundation.
Source: The Homelessness Monitor: England 2023, commissioned by Crisis and led by Heriot-Watt University, as part of the Homelessness Monitor series, a longitudinal study providing independent analysis of the homelessness impacts of recent economic and policy developments in England.
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