If ever there were a time for Paddington, it is now. Not just because we’re about to mark the centenary of the birth of Michael Bond, Paddington’s much-loved creator. And not because the stage musical is a huge hit in London, with an extended run that is a theatreland must-see. But because that lost bear is the story of our time.
As James Hameed, the puppeteer for the musical say, he represents displacement, finding safety and finding a home. It is not tough to transmute his arrival and the welcome he finds for that of so many others who are lost and desperate.
In this unsettled and unsettling state the world has been thrown into in 2026, who can’t get behind that simple message he represents: kindness wins.
This week, we take a swim in Paddington’s ripples, from those bringing him to stage, to the food bank offering more than marmalade sandwiches.
What else is in this week’s Big Issue?
Homeless people were given £2,000 with no strings attached. What they spent it on may surprise you
In the first trial of its kind in the UK, people experiencing homelessness were given a £2,000 lump sum, transferred straight to their bank accounts. There were no strings attached. Those behind the trial say the results bust outdated stereotypes.
The BBC’s new Saturday-night drama brings us into the lives of those trying to better themselves from behind bars
Josh Finan, star of Waiting for the Out, explains why this is a prison story with a difference. After turns in The Responder and as Gerry Adams in Say Nothing, Finan is no stranger to drama with much to say.
