Sonnex

‼️Note the date change to 28 May due to strike action! ‘All around you, you see us: broken, breaking, mending. Don’t pretend you can’t hear us too.’ Join @crisis_uk and @cardboardcitz for an evening of powerful storytelling, live readings and conversation as we celebrate the launch of More Than One Story – a new anthology that brings together 37 stories of homelessness and poverty, told with honesty, rage, humour and hope. Hosted at @shopfromcrisisputney by Cardboard Citizens Artistic Director and Joint CEO @csonnex , the evening will feature readings from writer and performer @misskerryfitz , Cardboard Citizens member Beyonce Meikle and theatre performer @shonababayemi . 📍 Shop from Crisis, Putney (97 Putney High St)
🗓 28 May
⏰ 6:30–8PM
🎟 FREE (link in bio) Come and hear the voices behind the pages.

Last Days of Judas Iscariot By Stephen Adly Guirgis Directed by Chris Sonnex Design by Millie Baltzer Photos by Kirsten McTernan

Big year for all at @cardboardcitz . Rounded off nicely by being nominated for the @thestageuk awards

Always great fun creating impactful short monologue films with our friends at @cardboardcitz In a quiet little coffee shop in Leyton. We created a little bit of magic!! Big shout out to super producer @hollievsmith for pulling everything together. And big boi director @csonnex for orchestrating screen magic! Big shout out to the small but might production team ❤️ Production- @baileydacreator @gricg DOP - @charlesalexanderfilm Production designer @jessiehuckin_creative HMUA - @sgriffithmakeup Director- @csonnex Producer - @hollievsmith Lets get creative ✨️ #filming #setdesign #setlife🎥 #production #crew #london #creative #shortfilm #monologue

This was such a moment. A moment for all those artists that don’t feel like they belong, that feel like their stories don’t matter, that are routinely ignored by the creative industry and for the people that experience poverty or homeless to know that their experiences are valid, people give a shit, and to be able to shout we are fucking here and we’re fucking excellent in spite of it all. If you couldn’t be there, it was special, but what made it special was the words in the book so please buy it and spread the word #morethanonestory #trafalgartheatre @cardboardcitz @nickhernbooks 📸 Piers Allardyce

@csonnex , Artistic Director of @cardboardcitz , joins me to discuss how theatre can challenge inequality and create genuine pathways for people with lived experience of homelessness and poverty. From hostel tours to award winning films and now a new anthology, More Than One Story, Chris shares how the company continues to evolve, redefining what theatre can be and who gets to make it. We explore Cardboard Citizens’ “garden model” of membership, where workshops, co-production forums and creative mentoring plant the seeds for long term growth. Chris talks about working with writers such as Malorie Blackman, Inua Ellams and Michelle de Swarte, and about giving new voices a national platform through open submissions and accessible opportunities. .uk/whats-on/event/cardboard-citizens-presents-more-than-one-story/ The conversation also delves into trauma informed practice, exploring how artists and facilitators are trained to create safer spaces, manage boundaries and avoid becoming a “one stop shop” for participants’ wider crises. Chris reflects candidly on the challenges of leadership, the shifting responsibilities of an Artistic Director, and the importance of removing ego to future proof an organisation and its artists. Thank you Chris for an inspiring discussion about creativity, care and community, and for reminding us that art is not just what happens on stage, but how we choose to work together. Chris’s Links: Website - .uk Instagram - @cardboardcitz Applied Theatre Podcast: X - @Apptheatrepod Instagram - @AppliedTheatrePod Email - [email protected] Subscribe on Spotify, Apple & Google Podcasts and Youtube (w/subtitles) - Applied Theatre Podcast #theatre #appliedtheatre #appliedtheatrepodcast #podcast #ChrisSonnex #CardboardCitizens #morethanonestory

Big up @cardboardcitz crew who are brilliant and made this book happen with so much sweat and hard work and integrity. #morethanonestory

Practising self love

I couldn’t be more proud to put this many brilliant writers in to print. Many for the very first time. What an immense bit of work that was from the whole of @cardboardcitz . From the readers, to the associates, to all of the staff, they’ve all just absolutely smashed it. If we had the budget we could have published ten books. But right now, this is a moment. If you can’t come to the event at trafalgar theatre, make sure you pre order the book at @nickhernbooks .

Last week we featured in @bigissueuk 's summer music special - alongside some mighty talent. @chrissonnex introduced our new project: More Than One Story: The Anthology celebrating the creative brilliance of writers with lived experience of homelessness and poverty. Why now? Because fewer than 1 in 10 arts workers come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and too often, stories of homelessness and poverty are told by someone else. It’s time to change that. Every experience is different, that’s why we’re giving people the space to tell their own stories. We’re looking for monologues that cut through the data sets and statistics. They can be angry, funny, painful, surreal - a poem, rant, song, or manifesto. What matters is that they’re authentic to lived experience. Submissions open until midnight, 30 June Visit the link in bio to find out more

This @bigissueuk cover is so cool. And gassed that the mighty @cardboardcitz is there among it. “The vital emerging power of cardboard citizens.” Vibes