The Shed

The Shed is a short filmed project starring Michael Green and voices from a wide range of our community in Coventry who have experienced homelessness. The film is directed by Francesca Robson, filmed by Ryan Christopher and paired with a new fresh beat from Wes Finch all commissioned by Underground Lights Community Theatre and funded by the Heart of England Community Foundation (Road to 2021 grant).

The purpose of the project is to shine a light on the differing experiences of home; where it might be and what it means. The project has been inspired by how we can explore homelessness through a different lens, mostly using movement and audio to push our audiences to question and address their own pre conceptions. The process has been long and difficult with many set backs due to COVID-19, but we finally found a way to capture multiple voices through the help of Benedict Davenport from Crisis and conversations from two workshops we ran with both Crisis and Underground Lights. This means the audio is a tapestry of voices from across the City and this has created a really beautiful memoir of experiences and stories.

Michael’s story which can be seen in the visual has been interpreted through movement and encapsulates his experience of living in multiple different properties and finally living in a shed. His story tells of strength and resilience. In Michael’s words, “I went through hell and back again, but now I can make any place a home”.