“Crimson Eyes – The Walking Play” is delivered by Phoebe – a fictional street-homeless woman – to users (at any time of the day or night). They can listen, using their smartphone and headphones, to hear Phoebe’s story – firstly, about how she became homeless and, secondly, what it’s like to be street homeless.

The scenario for the Walking Play is that the Listener has come to record Phoebe’s story. She takes them on a real-life walk through the streets of London’s West End, telling her story on the way. The Walk starts outside The Connection at St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields – a real-life homeless resource centre in Adelaide Street – and ends in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral. She also points out places of interest and relevance to the Listener whilst walking along the route, including: where she sleeps; where she receives food from volunteers (a real-life feeding station); and the Police Station where she’s spent some nights in the cells !

“Crimson Eyes – The Walking Play” is a grim, gritty tale that combines real-life misery with spates of humour and irony.

We hear that Phoebe previously had a good life – a job, a home, a partner and a child – but it all started to go pear-shaped when her young child died. Sadly, this led to her partner also dying, which led on to her losing her home, which then led to her also losing her job – resulting in her street homelessness. A spiral of misfortune and misery.

When she’s walking along, explaining her experiences to the audience, she’s interrupted from time to time by both unsympathetic and sympathetic passers-by, to whom she responds. She also gives some useful pieces of information about homelessness along the way.

One of the purposes of the Walking Play is to demonstrate – in a very visual, interactive way – that homelessness can happen to anyone – and to dispel some of the myths and stereotypical views about homelessness in the 21st century.

At the last count…around 4,700 people sleep rough in the UK every night. Worse…over 720 rough sleepers die on the streets every year – with an average age of 42 years … three decades earlier than they should.

That’s 720 sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, mums and dads – all people with problems, worries, hopes, dreams and responsibilities – just like Phoebe, me …and the Listener.

“Crimson Eyes – The Walking Play” assists in engaging and teaching the Listener about the following national issues outlined in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals:

– No Poverty
– Zero Hunger
– Good Health and Wellbeing

To get a better feel for the locations visited by Phoebe and the Listener, click on the Link below, which take you to the script, including a map of the walking route and photos of the locations referred to by Phoebe on her Walk (in order):

https://1drv.ms/b/c/0cc23b9911b67c91/EfRiKIq66mxLgrQNbRnvV4wBwtIjWT5KVZGGzTJeRL6u4g?e=EshcTx