How many times have we walked by people, men and women, lying on the streets?

A new series of short films exploring why people become homeless has been made by Cardboard Citizens, a charity that uses drama and performance to transform the lives of those who have lived experienced of homelessness, in association with Black Apron Entertainment. Each film is written and performed by people who have experienced homelessness. This week’s film is Ozwald Boateng, If You Must, written by Roy Williams and performed by David Olapoju. The protagonist is Johnny, a Big Issue vendor. He may be a character in the film but his experiences reflect those of vendors across the country. 

“This is my first day, but I just need a minute,” Johnny begins. He is nervous about standing on the street as a vendor, bringing attention to himself. But this reminds him of other times he stood out.

“Believe it or not, but I had a very expensive suit once. Ozwald Boateng, if you must,” he says. 

Life has changed, due to loss, prejudice, anger. Johnny recalls he had “a good job, banging car. So banging, I would lose count the amount of times the police would pull me over.” 

The film is written by Roy Williams, one of the UK’s leading dramatists. He was awarded an OBE for services to drama in 2008 and made a fellow of The Royal Society of Literature in 2018. His theatre work includes the state-of-the-nation trilogy Death of England (co-written with Clint Dyer) and the Olivier Award-nominated Sucker Punch. For TV, film and radio he has written Babyfather, Offside, Fast Girls, eight series of BBC Radio 4’s The Interrogation and Bafta-nominated Death of England: Face to Face and Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle.

‘Everyone has a story – they must do. We are humans, our life is a story’

There is a saying about storytelling. If you want to know where the best unsaid stories are, go to the graveyard. There are hundreds, thousands even, of people with untold stories. Stories about love, grief, pain, everything.  

I was thinking about all of that as I sat down to write my film. All of the souls in any graveyard around the world. Ones who may not have had their dreams realised. But there are people, thousands of people, who are alive and kicking and who we casually ignore: the homeless.  

How many times have we all done it? How many times have we walked by people, men and women, lying on the streets, some covered up with nothing but a blanket, and those are the fortunate ones – how many times? A show of hands anyone? But it is not just them now, is it? The Big Issue sellers, in almost every city in the country. Each of us could lose count how many times we have walked past. Have we ever stopped to ask them who they are? What are their names? What are their dreams? Do they have any? How did they wind up on the streets, what is their story?  

Everyone has a story – they must do. We are humans, our life is our story. It is a tragedy, if not a crime, that Black men of a certain age are more likely to suffer mental illness than anyone else. Why is that? Do these Black men not have a story to tell? Do they have dreams? A story? Of course they do. So, is it because no one wants to listen, any more than they want to listen to anyone lying in a grave? What is that about?  

The more I ask questions about anything, the more I want to write about it. I wanted my man to be listened to. If only for a moment. Nothing is as it seems.  

Cardboard Citizens introduces David Olapoju

Vendor Johnny is played by David Olapoju, who first performed with Cardboard Citizens in 2005: “Drama has been therapeutic and cathartic. It keeps me balanced, which allows me to continually explore myself and the human condition,” he says. He received a diploma in psychotherapy from an intercultural perspective from the Refugee Therapy Centre and graduated with a BA from Raindance Film School in 2024.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. Big Issue exists to give homeless and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy of the magazine or get the app from the App Store or Google Play.