A homeless young Londoner with dreams of making it in showbusiness shared his story with the audience of one of the West End’s biggest musicals.
Aidan Amin, 24, became one of the capital’s thousands of “hidden homeless” — sofa surfing and moving from one hostel to the next — on leaving his east London home age 20, following disagreements with his parents.
Last week he appeared in front of more than 2,000 people at the Lyceum Theatre, Covent Garden, at the curtain call at the end of the matinee audience performance of the Lion King.
It is part of the production’s work with homeless charity Centrepoint, which has helped him through film and photography courses, while living in a central London hostel over the past two years. He is also doing work experience in the theatre.
The aspiring film director said: “I shared my story, how and why I left home, what happened after I left — going into a refuge, going into hostels — and then Centrepoint being there and helping me with my depression and job opportunities and everything.
“Most people just think that if you’re sleeping on the street you’re homeless, but they don’t know about people sleeping on sofas and on buses and all that stuff. Even people that are living in hostels don’t have a permanent place to stay at the end of the day. They need support.”
He said he found standing in front of the audience “nerve wracking” but hoped to make Londoners more aware of different types of homelessness.
Di Gornall, Director of Fundraising at Centrepoint, said: “This type of [work] experience and support helps the young people we support to develop their potential and confidence; skills proudly demonstrated by Aidan.”
