Street

In Street, writer and director Liviu Monsted presents to the audience a grim picture of the plight of young people living on the street. It is not so much a story of why or how they ended up homeless, nor does it present a neat solution to their situation, rather it raises our consciousness and asks us to look more closely at those living on the streets.

As the play opens we are confronted by the stark reality of the “Street” – John Murrell’s set is a simple wall covered with a mix of graffiti and posters, a lamp post and an old blanket covering unknown bodies lying on the rubbish infested hard pavement. From the blanket emerge Foster, played with stoic resilience by Stuart Oliver, and the nervous, uptight Miriam, played so realistically by Lucy Hadfield. Foster has a type acceptance of his situation while Miriam is dependent and desperate, but there is a protective bond between them as they struggle to survive together to find food and safety. 

Into this world come Fay, played with wonderfully annoying modern mannerisms by Talia Chenaye, and Christian, played by Benn Spillane as her “cool” and almost sleezy friend. It is really from these two, with their privileged, middle class background coming to “experience” homelessness that the emotional grab of the piece is developed. They have no understanding of the real life of street people and it is almost a game to them until they see what it is really like. This is heightened with the entrance of Manning, played by Hunter Clarke, whose part, though small, is dramatic and hard hitting, and from there the situation quickly disintegrates.

This was not meant to be, nor is it, a comfortable piece to watch as we are asked to think about our responsibility, but the issue of homelessness is an important one in our affluent society and needs addressing.

Maggy Franklin

Photographer: Abe Bastoli