REVIEW: HOMELESS at The Hen and Chickens Theatre / Camden Fringe 17 – 20 Aug 2023

‘poignant piece revealing much about how it feels to be homeless’ ★★★ ½  

When my husband worked in Vienna, he was surprised to be told that he had to register with the police as an alien. To an Englishman (at the time) the word ‘alien’ largely meant little green men from another planet. He was a little offended.   It isn’t the most welcoming word, so how does a displaced person from another country, now homeless on the street of a big city, an alien, really feel and survive being an outcast from society?

This is the premise for HOMELESS. Immigrant, Mike (Aman Anam) is living rough on the streets with his dog (Vkin Vats) and we are taken on their journey. Don’t expect big fancy sets during the Camden Fringe. It is a great opportunity for audiences to get engrossed in stories we might never have heard before. HOMELESS feels very authentic, with meticulous acting from the players.

Mike articulates his feelings to his dog with disjointed and repeated sentences and long pauses.  Life is lonely even with a dog, who disappears and reappears to be recognised again by Mike.  The dog at various stages also seems to represent other people, perhaps Mike’s younger brother, or another homeless person who is largely dumb and perhaps has a learning disability.  At these moments of discovery, Mike shows his beautifully optimistic and romantic disposition. He’s a pilot or a train driver but we’re not sure if he hasn’t just lost his mind and nothing he says can be relied upon.  There are simple truths of survival being staged here.

The direction of the piece by Moses Hao is also meticulous with a very measured pace to the point of almost being slow. We’re so used to being fed information at startling speeds and I must admit that I did drift off a couple of times. Each scene showed a different aspect of homelessness and levels of desperation, with begging on a tube train being quite a low point. The lighting effect for this didn’t quite come off, nevertheless, the poignancy of the situation really did hit home. The dilemma of living on the fringes, without family, home or income.

Aman Anam who is also the writer, raised so many questions which this show had no intension of answering.   As the denouement of the piece landed it did reveal something about Mike … but not enough.  Isn’t that just it though? Isn’t that the point?

HOMELESS by Aman Anam

Hen and Chickens Theatre

17 – 20 August 2023

Box Office https://camdenfringe.com/events/homeless/

The Cast

Mike | Aman Anam

Guy | Vkin Vats

The Creative Team

Writer | Aman Anam

Director | Moses Hao

Associate Director | Diyu Liu

Set and Costume Designer | Constance Comparot

Sound Designer | Elliot 'Eli.P' Popeau-George

Lighting Designer | Beril Yavuz

Graphic Designer | Aman Anam

Producer | Bodies For Rent Theatre Company and UU Xinyou Zhang

Assistant Producer | Siyu Chen

Reviewed by Heather Jeffery, Editor of London Pub Theatres Magazine