The Bunker, Southwark’s unique underground theatre, has been playing host to Home Truths for just over a week now. The latest offering from the critically-acclaimed Cardboard Citizens, it attempts to trace the history of London’s housing crisis.
Below Cathy Owen, an actor, associate artist for the National Youth Theatre, and one of the company’s reoccurring stars, discusses the importance of Cardboard Citizens, the group that makes life-changing theatre with, and for, homeless people.
Home Truths is a very ambitious project. It’s an attempt to portray the history of the housing crisis from the slums of Victorian London to the modern-day situation in the city today. Through nine commissioned plays the performances run in cycles of three, with the concept of the “deserving and undeserving poor” as the underlying theme throughout. The plays range from stories about the well-meaning philanthropists of the Victorian eras, who charged themselves with the peculiar duty of “raising the aspirations of the working class,” to those who were forced to squat in airfields after WWII because there was nowhere else to live. Then there are the two women battling with racism as they attempt to live in 1950s Notting Hill, and the difficulties of getting into social housing in the city today. Each piece is woven together with short stitches, which portray the periods in between and give a very complete feel to each performance.
Home Truths follows on from the hugely popular Cathy. This was a theatrical adaptation of Ken Loach’s Cathy Come Home. Although the film is over fifty years old, I have never experienced doing a play that feels so completely current. Cathy documents the gradual process of becoming homeless. In a similarly relatable story as I, Daniel Blake, Cathy tells that tale of a regular mother, who loses her zero-hour-contract job, can’t keep up with the rent and so gets evicted. It is important to remember that this isn’t an unusual story. Homelessness is one of the biggest issues facing our society today.
Audience interaction is particularly important to what the Cardboard Citizens does. When Cathy draws to a close, the audience is encouraged to voice their opinions on the themes of the production. This creates a necessary dialogue about homelessness which is particularly relevant considering the diversity of our audiences, from landlords to students, and those who have a lot of money to those who have and are experiencing homelessness. Earlier this year we presented the top five housing laws, as suggested by audiences of Cathy, to members of the House of Lords. We also actively encourage audience members to come up on stage and effectively step into Cathy’s shoes. By responding to situations and demonstrating what they would do, this crucial part of the production feels almost like a rehearsal for life.
Every actor who works with Cardboard Citizens learns so much about homelessness. It is a pressing social, political and legal issue that impacts and affects all members of our society. We often find ourselves turning to each other during rehearsals, stating in perplexity, “I didn’t know that!” Like, for example, when faced with staggering statistics from the charity Shelter, the fact that 1 in 51 people in London are homeless. This statistic includes the invisible homeless, such as those who are in waiting for accommodation, sofa-surfing, people who rarely get a look in and barely get a mention. This information is conveyed, in a very interactive way, to a vast range of audiences, encouraging and nurturing social attention and social change. Adrian Jackson – the Artistic Director of the Cardboard Citizens and Director of Home Truths – deserves an OBE if you ask me.
Home Truths will be running at the Bunker in until the 13th May. Info and tickets here. The critically-acclaimed Cathy will be playing in the Pleasance Theatre for the duration of the Edinburgh Fringe. Tickets here.
