Rory Kinnear, Arthur Darvill, and More Will Launch 'More Than One Story' Book With Cardboard Citizens

On Sunday 9 November, stars of stage and screen will unite to celebrate the publication of a brand new book from the award-winning arts and social justice charity, Cardboard Citizens. More Than One Story: An Anthology of Monologues on Homelessness and Poverty - a groundbreaking collection of new writing - will have a special launch event at Trafalgar Theatre, hosted by long-standing Cardboard Citizens' Ambassador and James Bond star, Rory Kinnear.

Laura Checkley (Detectorists, In My Skin), Arthur Darvill (Legends of Tomorrow, Doctor Who), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Dune, Enola Holmes, Sex Education), Shon Faye (author of the acclaimed bestseller, The Transgender Issue, and essay collection, Love in Exile), Paterson Joseph (Wonka, Peep Show), Nicôle Lecky (Sweetpea, Sense8), Daisy Lewis (Downton Abbey), Sara Pascoe  (8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Taskmaster), Prasanna Puwanarajah (Too Much, Ten Percent), Nabhaan Rizwan (KAOS, Station Eleven, Industry), Danusia Samal (The Great, Bangers), Josh Tedeku (Supacell, Boarders) and Liam Williams (Ladhood, Everyone Else Burns) will join Rory Kinnear and Cardboard Citizens Members on-stage for an evening of readings and performances offering audiences an exclusive preview of this brand new publication. The evening's readings will be accompanied by live genre-bending pop from the magnetic musician and artist, Tom Rasmussen.

Rory Kinnear said: “I'm truly honoured to be hosting the launch of More Than One Story. This book is unlike anything else – it brings together voices and experiences of homelessness and poverty that are too often ignored, but that carry incredible power, honesty, and humanity. This launch isn't just a book event. It's the very first chance to hear these stories spoken and celebrated, to be part of a community coming together around voices that matter. It will be moving, inspiring, and unforgettable.”

Curated by Cardboard Citizens and published by Nick Hern Books, More Than One Story brings together thirty-seven emerging and established writers to voice the struggle and rage, the hope, humour and heart in the stories of homelessness and poverty that are so often unheard, overlooked, or told by others.

Earlier this year, Cardboard Citizens launched a national open call for original monologues from first-time, emerging and established writers with lived experience. A team of readers - composed of Cardboard Citizens' Members and industry professionals - were looking for stories that could challenge perceptions, build understanding, and inspire change.

The open call received submissions from all corners of the UK, and twenty-two writers were selected to feature in the More Than One Story collection. They are: Adil Hassan, Allie Bittar, Bobby Brill, Caitriona Shoobridge, Chloe Barrow, Daniel York Loh, Jhenifer Acacia, Joanne Gallagher, Jordon Grant, Julie Tsang, Kay Adshead, Kerry Fitzgerald, Khasha Hobbeheydar, Oakley Flanagan, Peyvand Sadeghian, Redd Lily Roche, Rina Vergano, Sally Lovutta Coker, Shona Bukola Babayemi, Sophie Cairns, Steph, of the Lilac System, and Sydney Trotter.

They will be published alongside brand new monologues commissioned by Cardboard Citizens from: former Children's Laureate and Cardboard Citizens Ambassador, Malorie Blackman (Noughts and Crosses); Olivier Award-winning playwright, lyricist and screenwriter, Chris Bush (Standing at the Sky's Edge); writer, comedian and star of BBC Two's comedy drama, Spent, Michelle De Swarte; award-winning writer, curator and cross-disciplinary artist, Inua Ellams (The 14th Tale); Olivier Award-winning bionic playwright and filmmaker, Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini (Sleepova); and T.S. Eliot Prize winning poet, playwright and author, Joelle Taylor (The Night Alphabet) – with a foreword penned by stage and screen luminary, Michael Sheen.

The anthology will also feature the nine monologues commissioned by Cardboard Citizens for its award-winning short film series, More Than One Story, penned by playwrights and screenwriters with lived experience of homelessness or poverty: Sonali Bhattacharyya (Chasing Hares, Two Billion Beats); Debbie Hannan (Beegu); Charlie Josephine (Cowbois, I, Joan); BAFTA Award-winning screenwriter, Kayleigh Llewellyn (Killing Eve, In My Skin, The Dream Lands); Citz Member and spoken word artist, Errol McGlashan/Uncle Errol (Something to Take off the Edge); Neetu Singh (Brown Girl Noise, Kabul Goes Pop); Artistic Director and joint CEO of Cardboard Citizens, Chris Sonnex; Naomi Westerman (Puppy, Batman (aka Naomi's Death Show)); and multi-award winning playwright and Cardboard Citizens Ambassador, Roy Williams (Death of England, Sucker Punch).

Chris Sonnex, Artistic Director and joint CEO of Cardboard Citizens, said: “When we asked for the voices of More Than One Story, we weren't sure who would answer. What we received was a chorus, voices from every corner of the UK, carrying truths shaped by poverty and homelessness, by resilience, by love, by survival, joy, and rage.
These monologues are fierce and tender, furious and hopeful. They are the kind of stories that don't just ask to be heard, they demand it. The breadth of people who answered us is powerful: artists whose experiences span gender and identity, disability and neurodivergence, race and culture, migration, care, survival and by those who have lived the realities of poverty and homelessness. The level of quality and urgency was so high, we could have published ten books. Each piece is a reminder that art is not owned by the privileged few, it is created in every community, in every life. This anthology is more than a collection of words on a page. It is testimony. It is resistance. It is a nationwide act of truth-telling. If our culture is ever to shift, then these voices must not only be welcomed in, they must be placed centre stage. That urgency runs through every line, and it is why More Than One Story matters now more than ever.”