Book review: MORE THAN ONE STORY, Cardboard Citizens
Since its founding in 1991, Cardboard Citizens has resolutely and unwaveringly carried out its mission to create theatre for, and with, homeless and formerly homeless people. Under the stewardship of artistic director Chris Sonnex, this company has gained momentum in recent years, responding to the devastating impact of the cost of living and housing crises in the UK.
More Than One Story began as a series of nine monologue films, and has since grown and expanded as a project that seeks to change the narrative and challenge perceptions of homelessness. Contrary to common public opinion, homelessness doesn’t just look like one thing; over twenty testimonies in this anthology paint a multi-faceted picture of homelessness beyond street-sleeping, including stories set in sofa-surfing situations, hostels, prison and other forms of temporary accommodation.
Now a published collection of selected poems, monologues and other short theatre pieces, More Than One Story translates the frustrations of the disenfranchised and oppressed into a galvanising battle cry. This book is a confronting exposure of the failings of the UK government and public services to tackle the issue of homelessness – an issue that is not going away but growing inexorably larger with every passing parliament. It is, as Sonnex puts in his foreword, a “cultural and societal crisis”. If the fact that one in five people live in poverty in the UK doesn’t move you to action, or that 145,000 children are growing up in temporary accommodation, then maybe some of the testimonies in this collection can stir some response.
Actor Michael Sheen’s foreword sagely posits that “a national conversation can’t be national, or indeed a conversation, if we only ever hear from the same people”, and the many and varied credentials of the writers included in this collection attest to the variety of experiences shared, from award-winning playwrights including Chris Bush and Inua Ellams, to new writers making their print debut.
Across the variety of works which are refreshingly eclectic and unique in tone, style and form, More Than One Story presents an intersectional view of how disability, sexuality, gender identity, nationality, mental health and experience of the criminal justice system co-conspire to keep the homeless in a vicious cycle of poverty and instability.
One striking theme that emerges is the economic drain and cost of homelessness. In Sophie Cairns’ GenRent, ‘Eviction Admin’ is described as a “full-time job”, and Errol McGlashan considers the cost of keeping people trapped in the criminal justice system without meaningful and impactful interventions. The snippets of anecdotal evidence set out in More Than One Story, as well as the quality of the storytelling itself, demonstrates the catastrophic waste of talent and potential resulting from this epidemic of gross negligence.
More Than One Story is more than a vital piece of literature – it is potentially world-changing. Everyone needs to read this book and pass it on – these stories need to be elevated because with the right audience, we can tackle the root causes of homelessness and make it so this is an issue of the past.
A raw and rousing treatise in humanity and resilience – a triumph.
Reviewed by: Livvy Perrett