George Orwell’s classic book on 1930s poverty in Paris and London – Down and Out in Paris and London – is brought to life in an immersive performance that asks searching questions about homelessness today. Read live by politicians, artists, celebrities, activists and members of the homeless community and using a combination of music, story-telling, film and performance this live theatrical event, directed by Hannah Price, will run in London for one day only ahead of a performance in Paris.
Directed by Hannah Price, the performances – in London on 6th June as part of UCL’s Festival of Culture, and Paris in late September – are by the same team who produced the acclaimed reading of the whole of 1984 on a single day in 2017. Each performance will be accompanied by discussions and workshops on the contemporary challenges of homelessness and poverty.
Orwell wrote Down and Out in Paris and London as a result of his own experiences sleeping rough and working on what would now be called zero-hours contracts in hotel kitchens. The performance also draws on other Orwell work including his diaries, The Spike and A Clergyman’s Daughter. Readers include writers, activists, politicians, campaigners and young people who have been homeless. In a multi-disciplinary production, modern stories from the streets are experienced alongside the Orwell text.
The event is the result of a collaboration between The Orwell Foundation, The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Libby Brodie Productions and UCL’s Festival of Culture. The creative team are director Hannah Price, lighting and video designer Robbie Butler, sound designer Fraser Milroy and set and costume designer Octavia Crawford-Collins.
The Director of the Orwell Foundation, Jean Seaton, said “We are proud to be re-imagining Orwell’s work to focus on contemporary poverty, to use the power of the performance to shed new light. It is thrilling to be able to connect to our colleagues in Paris in this joint creative and intellectual piece of work . But we are ashamed that is so necessary.”
The London performance of Down and Out in Paris and London will take place on 6th June 2018 at Senate House, University of London from 2pm – 6pm, and is free for audiences to attend. Audiences are encouraged to bring sleeping bags to sit on and then leave behind for a collection for a homeless charity.
