Paradise

The Koreo Prize is a prestigious award for young people to champion social causes. For the competition I wrote and directed a play called Paradise, which focused on social housing. Paradise made it to the finals of the Koreo Prize and was a runner up. Abstract: Paradise, formerly The Demon of Dunsinane, centres around social housing and life on council estates. Set in Croydon, South East London, the play follows the lives of Eve, PC Adams and Lucien as they tell their stories — each connected to council housing in some way. Paradise attempts to stop the demonization of those who rely on social housing by shedding light on the severity of the housing crisis. While the play suggests some ways the crisis can be resolved, it makes no attempt to simplify the issue. Instead it is trying to bring attention to the horrific consequences of what happens when social issues are ignored. Paradise is divided into four parts, each part separated by a short video which will be projected for the audience to see. The play is a facts and figures show, designed to educate and stimulate the audience into forming an opinion around the subjects it discusses. While the play is highly political, it is not trying to advocate a particular viewpoint. Instead it is trying to make clear how complex the issue of housing is, and how this social issue connects to others such as homelessness and poverty.