Cardboard Citizens

Cardboard Citizens is a United Kingdom theatre company whose work is rooted in homelessness, poverty and the participation of people with lived experience. Founded in 1991 by Adrian Jackson in the Cardboard City community that had formed around Waterloo's Bullring, the organisation developed as a professional theatre company for people who were homeless or otherwise socially excluded. Its practice combines performance, participation and social advocacy, with a particular emphasis on Forum Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed methods associated with Augusto Boal. The organisation became independent in 1995 and subsequently established a distinctive model that links professional production with training, community participation and direct engagement with audiences affected by housing insecurity. Rather than operating solely as a conventional producing theatre, Cardboard Citizens takes performances into a range of settings, including mainstream theatres, prisons, hostels and community venues. Its Forum Theatre productions are designed to encourage audiences to examine social problems and test possible responses, making the theatrical event a space for discussion and collective problem-solving. The company has commissioned and presented work by writers including Kae Tempest, Ali Taylor and Sarah Woods. Productions cited in connection with its work include Glasshouse, Cathy and Meta, as well as site-specific and collaborative projects such as Mincemeat and A Few Man Fridays. It has also worked with major cultural organisations, including the Royal Shakespeare Company and English National Opera. Its Shakespeare-related projects have included Pericles and Timon of Athens in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2016, Cardboard Citizens marked both the fiftieth anniversary of Ken Loach's film Cathy Come Home and the company's twenty-fifth anniversary with a Community Ensemble stage adaptation. The production placed the experience of housing insecurity and family disruption at the centre of a participatory theatrical context and featured Elle Payne as Cathy and Denholm Spurr as Reg. Leadership has reflected the organisation's commitment to lived experience. Adrian Jackson, who founded the company and served as its chief executive and artistic director, received an MBE in the 2018 New Year Honours for services to the arts. In August 2021, Chris Sonnex became artistic director after leading the Bunker Theatre in Southwark. He was described as the first person with lived experience of poverty and homelessness to lead Cardboard Citizens. The company remains active as a specialist British theatre organisation combining professional artistic work with social engagement, advocacy and opportunities for people affected by homelessness.

Cardboard Citizens was established in 1991 by Adrian Jackson in the Cardboard City community that had developed around the Bullring in Waterloo. The organisation emerged from work with people experiencing homelessness and was built around the idea that people directly affected by poverty and insecure housing should be able to participate in professional theatre, not merely appear as subjects of social-realist stories. Its early identity therefore combined artistic production with practical engagement and a public platform for issues connected to homelessness. The company became independent in 1995. From that point it developed a touring and producing model centred on Forum Theatre and the Theatre of the Oppressed. These approaches, associated with Augusto Boal, invite audiences to analyse situations of conflict or injustice and consider how different interventions might alter the outcome. Cardboard Citizens adapted those methods to British debates about homelessness, poverty, prison, social exclusion and access to support. Its work has been presented in conventional theatres as well as in prisons, hostels and community venues, allowing the company to reach both arts audiences and people whose circumstances might make regular theatre attendance difficult. Cardboard Citizens has commissioned or staged work by writers including Kae Tempest, Ali Taylor and Sarah Woods. Productions identified with its Forum Theatre programme include Glasshouse, Cathy and Meta. Alongside touring participatory work, the organisation has produced site-specific performances and undertaken collaborations with larger cultural institutions. These collaborations have included the Royal Shakespeare Company and English National Opera. Its Shakespeare-related projects have included productions of Pericles and Timon of Athens, while other cited projects include Mincemeat and A Few Man Fridays. A notable later project was the 2016 Community Ensemble staging of Cathy Come Home. The production was created to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Ken Loach's influential film and the twenty-fifth anniversary of Cardboard Citizens. By revisiting the film through a live, community-based theatrical form, the project connected a landmark representation of homelessness with contemporary testimony and participatory performance. Elle Payne played Cathy and Denholm Spurr played Reg. Leadership continuity was provided for many years by founder Adrian Jackson, who served as chief executive and artistic director. In December 2017 he was awarded an MBE, announced through the 2018 New Year Honours, for services to the arts. In August 2021, Chris Sonnex became artistic director. Sonnex had previously been artistic director of the Bunker Theatre in Southwark and was described as the first person with lived experience of poverty and homelessness to lead Cardboard Citizens. His appointment reinforced the company's long-standing emphasis on lived experience as an artistic and organisational resource. Cardboard Citizens' continuing significance lies in its hybrid identity. It is a professional theatre company, a participatory arts organisation and a vehicle for social commentary on homelessness and poverty. Its work operates across the cultural and community sectors, using touring, collaborative production and Forum Theatre to connect artistic quality with civic engagement. The available reference material identifies the company as active in the United Kingdom, but does not provide sufficiently detailed information about its current legal structure, funding, premises or financial position.

• 2021

  Chris Sonnex becomes artistic director

  [1]Cardboard Citizensen.wikipedia.org

  Sonnex succeeds to the artistic leadership after working as artistic director of the Bunker Theatre.

• 2017

  Founder Adrian Jackson is awarded an MBE

  [1]Cardboard Citizensen.wikipedia.org

  Jackson receives an MBE for services to the arts, announced in the 2018 New Year Honours.

• 2016

  Community Ensemble presents Cathy Come Home

  [1]Cardboard Citizensen.wikipedia.org

  The company stages a community production marking the fiftieth anniversary of Ken Loach's film and Cardboard Citizens' twenty-fifth anniversary.

• 1995

  The organisation becomes independent

  [1]Cardboard Citizensen.wikipedia.org

  Cardboard Citizens begins operating as an independent organisation.

• 1991

  Cardboard Citizens is founded

  [1]Cardboard Citizensen.wikipedia.org

  Adrian Jackson establishes the company in the Cardboard City community around Waterloo's Bullring.

A specialist British theatre company combining professional performance with lived-experience participation, Forum Theatre, Theatre of the Oppressed practice and advocacy concerning homelessness and poverty.

• Participatory theatre

  Forum Theatre productions

  Cardboard Citizens' core artistic offering uses Forum Theatre and related Theatre of the Oppressed techniques to explore social problems, particularly homelessness, poverty and exclusion. Performances are designed to open discussion and allow audiences to consider alternative actions rather than functioning only as fixed dramatic presentations. The company has toured this work to theatres, prisons, hostels and community venues across the United Kingdom.

• Community theatre

  Community Ensemble productions

  Community Ensemble work brings people with relevant lived experience into the creation and performance of professional or professionally supported theatre. The model combines collective participation with public presentation and has been used for projects addressing homelessness and social vulnerability. The 2016 staging of Cathy Come Home is a prominent example cited in the company's history.

• Community ensemble production · 2016

  Cathy Come Home

  This 2016 production reinterpreted Ken Loach's Cathy Come Home through Cardboard Citizens' Community Ensemble approach. It marked the film's fiftieth anniversary and the theatre company's twenty-fifth anniversary, connecting a well-known British account of housing insecurity with participatory live performance.

• Forum Theatre productions

  Glasshouse, Cathy and Meta

  These productions are cited as examples of Cardboard Citizens' Forum Theatre repertoire. They were written by Kae Tempest, Ali Taylor and Sarah Woods respectively and exemplify the company's practice of commissioning contemporary writers to address social experience through participatory theatre.

• 2021

  Appoint Chris Sonnex as artistic directorOther

  Background

  The company sought new artistic leadership after Adrian Jackson's long tenure as founder, chief executive and artistic director.

  Action taken

  Chris Sonnex, formerly artistic director of the Bunker Theatre in Southwark, was appointed artistic director in August 2021.

  Aftermath

  The appointment continued Cardboard Citizens' emphasis on lived experience, as Sonnex became the first leader described as having personal experience of poverty and homelessness.

  Source

• 1995

  Operate as an independent theatre organisationStrategy

  Background

  After its initial formation in the Cardboard City community, the organisation reached an independent status in 1995.

  Action taken

  Cardboard Citizens separated into an independent operating organisation and continued developing its own producing, touring and participatory theatre programme.

  Aftermath

  The independent structure supported the company's subsequent touring, collaborations and specialist identity as a theatre organisation for people affected by homelessness.

  Source

1. 1Cardboard Citizensen.wikipedia.org