The FringeGuru guide to the VAULT Festival on on Sunday 23 February

When a local hospital announces its closure, panic ensues. <br/>Healthcare Assistant Rhea is forced to look for work elsewhere. Local lad Aaron worries about his mum’s treatment in the cancer unit. And Curtis just isn’t sure where he’s going to sleep. <br/>But when the three witness a horrific accident, a rare opportunity presents itself. <br/>As a dangerous decision triggers a wild chain of events, Rhea, Aaron and Curtis soon find themselves gathering power, influence and infamy – and inspiring a cohort of vigilante activists. <br/>What does it take to enact real change? And what would you sacrifice to keep it?<br/>Following the success of ***** 'Digging Deep' at last year's Vault Festival, Chalk Line present Amy Guyler's new political thriller 'The Nobodies'. 'The Nobodies' is made in collaboration with the multi award winning New Diorama Emerging Graduate Company, Chalk Line Theatre.

Alexa, why am I sad? This clown is down, so she enlists the help of a comic companion, the audience and a virtual assistant. Together they embark on a frank and funny exploration of mental health. ClownHearted is a physical comedy, without dialogue, that hopes to focus on friendship in an increasingly isolated society. This light-hearted, accessible show invites you to join two clowns on a journey through self-care. With plenty of playful interaction, audiences and performers will clown around together to discover that laughter really can be the best medicine.

Join us, farmers, David and Sam, under the watchful eye of our rumbustious Gran, as we courteously portray to you our untold and epic adventures right here at VAULT Festival, in the flesh, in Waterloo.<br/>We don't promise facts. We don't even promise to get to the end of the show but we do so solemnly pledge a kaleidoscope of physical debauchery, completely chaotic magic and a unique little love story with a Cow. ALL of which is delivered with the best showmanship we can muster. Which is loads. So bring your Granny and all your family because this is a play for big kids and other adults.<br/>There's nothing to fear and nothing to lose 'cause Granny Barbs will be there and she always keeps us on the straight and narrow. Always.

Nominated for Best Comedy at Brighton Fringe 2019, this critically-acclaimed one-man comedy cabaret is "a delightful and delectable exploration of the cut-throat and ever-unforgiving entertainment industry" (LondonTheatre1).<br/>Henry Moss plays Harry Ledgerman a musical theatre star and national treasure who after a public mental break down is desperate to revamp his career. He aims to promote his tell all celebrity memoir ‘Quadruple Threat’ by hosting a series of motivational workshops featuring other obnoxious guest speakers who all claim they have the secret to success. Because these days being a triple threat just isn’t enough... <br/>After rave reviews at Sydney, Camden and Brighton Fringe, Australian comedian Henry Moss will channel fictitious, egomaniac Harry Ledgerman and his wife, notorious talent agent Krystal Lee. <br/>With his signature wit, brassy voice and high kicks Henry will perform dozens of pop hits. <br/>London Theatre1 ***** “A number of celebrity interviews demonstrate Henry Moss’ versatility still further, as he plays out each character himself... he utterly nails both the persona and intonations... simply magnificent, and frankly, it’s worth attending this show just for that." <br/>The Latest ***** "Mr Henry Moss takes you into his world of deluded celebrity and he does it with charm and talent... he delivers every element with both skill and style"

Mr. Sea and Mr. Sand are very different. They look different. They act different. They are very different. And now they are stuck on the same part of the beach together. Both wanting to enjoy it in their own way. But can they learn to share? <br/>Whirlpools of laugher, some smelly seaweed and frying pants. Sunshine encourages the child in all of us to play and accept ourselves for the wonderful creatures we are! Highly interactive, brilliantly bonkers, life affirming Sunshine for everyone.

Sea levels are rising. Wildlife is becoming extinct. We’re drowning in plastic.
But everyone is using Paper Straws, isn’t that something? <br/>Taking place in changing time frames, we follow the lives of three people brought up through the 'liferaft' system - a scheme that re-homes children from places deemed unlivable because of the changing climate. Now in their adult lives, and each having very different relationships to how climate change has shaped their identities, they get a calling: it's time to step up and do something. <br/>Part surreal comedy, part family drama set against the backdrop of our looming climate catastrophe, the characters are forced to decide 'how far would you go to save the world'? <br/>Please note: Paper Straws is an experiment in sustainable theatre-making, from the rehearsal room to the stage. This performance is a Work In Progress.
Cast and further creative team to be announced.

What would happen if you took a journey through history, opened the door and asked the woman what she thought? Saw? Felt? Believed? <br/>What would happen if that woman was the daughter of a King, the last King of Deheubarth? A woman who caused a civil war because of her beauty alone? Heard of her? Maybe. You're about to! Told by jesters through song, dance and rhyme, this is a tale of Nesta Ferch Rhys, the Welsh Princess who bewitched Kings, Princes and courts. A woman of true Welsh blood. A woman with a story to tell. <br/>Nest follows the life of a Princess whose story has been lost in history. A woman who had such power and no way in which to use it. The legend of Nesta's beauty still echoes but her story is much more enchanting than just beauty itself! <br/>Come follow our jesters in this musical tale of love, war, history, Wales and women.

Now that we’ve found love, what are we going to do with it?<br/>Sam and Rose had one of those head over heels romances that made sense of all the love songs. Years later after the devastation this love wreaked on their lives, they have a chance to put their story to bed or destroy each other in the process.<br/>Naomi Sheldon returns to VAULT festival after her smash hit Good Girl, with this fast paced, dark and sexually charged two-hander exploring who gets to be the bad guy and who walks away scot-free when toxic relationships end. Are the wounds we submit ourselves to in the name of love ever worth the scars? Would we do it all over again because although toxic, it made us feel alive?<br/>Good Girl won VAULT festival show of the week and Funny Women best show award before a month long run at Trafalgar Studios in 2018.

After two years of making musical stings on his computer, mostly in his underwear at 3am, Archie's facing an artistic crisis. It's time to break the cycle. The debut hour from this multi award-winning comedian is the multimedia musical experience you didn't know you needed. <br/>Winner: IYAF Best of Brighton Fringe Comedy, 2018.
Nominated: Buxton Fringe Comedy Awards 2019.
'Radiated a delightfully daft energy' (Chortle.co.uk).
'Immense talent and fantastic energy' (Edinburgh Festivals Magazine).

Are you happy now? Near-future stories drawing on Black Mirror, Margaret Atwood and the black comedy of Killing Eve. Focused on the stories of women, the plays feature all-seeing smart speakers, curing depression in unusual ways, a new way to choose a decent politician and how to look good in the afterlife. Decluttering, one of the pieces within the show, started life as a short story and was the runner-up in the Crime Writers’ Association Margery Allingham Prize 2019.

PICK OF THE PLEASANCE 2019 AWARD WINNER
Supported at Vaults by The Pleasance<br/>A 'breathtakingly sad and intensely funny' true-story of Rosa Hesmondhalgh's ovarian cancer treatment aged 23. The 5 star sell-out hit of Edinburgh Fringe is returning to London. Madame Ovary is a life-affirming show about the importance of love when your world comes crashing down.<br/>It's January and Rosa is writing her resolutions. This is her year. She is going to stop going out with plonkers, start doing yoga and write some really good art. But before she's had time to delete her dating apps and get into downward dog, she's diagnosed. With ovarian cancer. And it's spread. Suddenly faced with hospitals, chemotherapy and her own mortality, Rosa's new goal for the year ahead is to survive it. Based on Rosa’s real-life blog, Madame Ovary explores the typical struggle a 20-something has with trying to stay relevant and the less typical struggle of trying to stay alive.<br/>"Breathtakingly sad and intensely funny” Broadway Baby
'Devastating and beautiful and true' Caitlin Moran
***** (ThreeWeeks, Edinburgh Reporter, Young Perspective, Within Her Words, Sincerely Amy, ITalkTelly)
**** (Broadway Baby, Miro Magazine, The Upcoming)

Gay investigative journalist Babatunde ‘Babs’ Okonkwo has come to visit his lesbian best friend Regina ‘Regi’ Abengowe in Lewisham, south London. With mounting pressures back in Nigeria, where homosexuality is illegal and escalating dangers for their partners, Babs and Regi hatch a plan to get married. They hope this ‘cover’ will stop the threatening rumours and allow Babs to safely expose the inhumane treatment of LGBTQIA+ people in Nigeria, especially in the north where being gay is publishable by death. <br/>Between Waitrose shifts, Regi's undergraduate degree, and snippets of news from back home, Regi and Babs put their friendship to the test. With the help of Regi’s 89-year-old German Jewish neighbour and the ‘Mr & Mrs’ Board Game.<br/>But the storms are gathering in Nigeria. Regi records the acts of violence happening to their friends and Babs’s own brother threatens to betray him. As the wedding approaches, Regi and Babs must choose what they care about the most.
how we love is a new play about different types of love.

A guerrilla theatre movement from SLAM King’s X
30 Performers + ONE Secret Location + ONE Trending Topic + ONE Minute Each
=
Motley Opinions & Solid Entertainment
60 singer-songwriters, spoken word, visual, drag and burlesque artists, comedians and playwrights bring you ONE MINUTE each on ONE trending topic. Cue varied opinion, cheap beer, open conversation and above all else, a bloody good show.<br/>SLAMinutes brings FOUR performances to VAULT Festival 2020:<br/>2nd Feb (Twice!): SLAMinutes Goes Mental
SLAMinutes tackles the biggest talking point yet ... Mental Health and this time: it’s a double bill. We’re bored out of our minds of mental health being spoken of as statistics instead of people, or not being talked about at all. Is it understood? No wait ... are we understood? <br/>9th Feb: SLAMinutes Does Kisschase (But It Won't Do That)
Ah February - thty) **e time of year when our hearts can be engorged with helium as can restaurant prices. The world around us is festooned with scarlet and baby pink. Fake, foil coated love in all its forms - but what’s wrong with that?
What’s love got to do with it anyway? <br/>23rd Feb: Gender Spectrum
We want to hear your story, your perspective, whoever you are on gender. Whether you are trans, non-binary, male, female or however you identify or don’t identify. Whether you have been held to ransom by the skin you’re in, or not, whether you have been subjected to toxic masculinity, or are toxic masculinity, what’s it like to be a woman? What’s it like to just be?

Mia and Mo have been to all the marches, turned off the heating and eaten the goldfish – but the climate’s still collapsing and they’re buckling under the pressure of saving the planet. Omelette is a new play by Anna Spearpoint (Theatre503), directed by Tash Hyman (JMK Award Finalist 2019) about climate anxiety, giving things up, and the pressure to do the right thing all the time.

A brand new work-in-progress from Jessica Fostekew, as seen on Live at the Apollo, Harry Hill's Clubnite and Dave Gorman's 'Terms & Conditions Apply'. This might be a show about arrogance or it might be one about sexiness or maybe actually a bit of both.
Best Show nominee - 2019 Dave Edinburgh Comedy Awards
Best Show nominee - 2019 Leicester Comedy Festival Awards<br/>“She finds a new fiercely funny strain of comedy that’s her own” **** The Times<br/>***** Metro
***** Funny Women
**** The Herald
**** The Scotsman
**** Chortle
**** The Skinny

‘Belly Up’ is an ‘arresting’ new comedy set in London in the reign of mad King George. After killing her master’s son in an unfortunate accident, Liberty Whitley, 23, tries to escape her inevitable death sentence by ‘pleading the belly’: that is, gaining a reprieve through pregnancy. <br/>So all Libby has to do is convince a jury she's up the duff. The problem is, she isn’t, and nor – being a lesbian stuck in the women’s ward – is she likely to become so... unless of course she can find a convict willing to impregnate her... and be quick about it. But brutal Newgate prison is not exactly Tinder, especially when you’re trying to shag your way out of impending death. However, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and as this riveting romp of a play unfolds, Libby’s more than ingenious ‘way’ reveals itself to the audience against a background that will have powerful echoes for today’s women. <br/>Through a comedic lens, the play celebrates women’s voices in a period of history that muted them. Her story unfolds against the backdrop of one of the most politically uncertain eras of British history - an era of intermittent food crisis, war, and fears of revolution.<br/>Above all, this is a play about sex – dodgy sex, but sex nonetheless. For Libby, the kind of sex that gets her going (the girl-on-girl, not-really-allowed-in-the-Georgian-era kind) is the thing that gets her into trouble. And it’s another kind of sex (the penis-centric kind) that has to get her out of it. The courts rule that Libby's reason for being is to bear children. But, through gritted teeth, she discovers her own.

When a local hospital announces its closure, panic ensues. <br/>Healthcare Assistant Rhea is forced to look for work elsewhere. Local lad Aaron worries about his mum’s treatment in the cancer unit. And Curtis just isn’t sure where he’s going to sleep. <br/>But when the three witness a horrific accident, a rare opportunity presents itself. <br/>As a dangerous decision triggers a wild chain of events, Rhea, Aaron and Curtis soon find themselves gathering power, influence and infamy – and inspiring a cohort of vigilante activists. <br/>What does it take to enact real change? And what would you sacrifice to keep it?<br/>Following the success of ***** 'Digging Deep' at last year's Vault Festival, Chalk Line present Amy Guyler's new political thriller 'The Nobodies'. 'The Nobodies' is made in collaboration with the multi award winning New Diorama Emerging Graduate Company, Chalk Line Theatre.

‘I hear Mother Nature calling, and I don’t know how to face her.
I’ve been having sleepless arctic nights on my two-bedroom glacier... ’<br/>It’s 2026, and Coco’s found a letter from the last ever polar bear. He’s somehow ended up at the top of Scotland. She’s going to save him.
Join us on a wild polar bear chase, through peat bogs and protests. We might just need your help... <br/>How To Save A Rock is a multi award-winning musical comedy about how to still have hope – for kids and adults alike. <br/>This show is carbon-neutral. The lighting is powered by solar-power and a bike cycled live on stage, production materials are recycled and recyclable, and all music is created live.
Winner of: The Sunday Times Playwriting Award (2019) / The Samuel French New Play Award (2019) / The Camden People’s Theatre Award (2019) / And the VAULT Festival 2020 x Staging Change Award.<br/>‘hilarious and touching... as many people as possible should see it’ – Theatre Weekly
“hope is paramount” - The Scotsman

Alexa, why am I sad? This clown is down, so she enlists the help of a comic companion, the audience and a virtual assistant. Together they embark on a frank and funny exploration of mental health. ClownHearted is a physical comedy, without dialogue, that hopes to focus on friendship in an increasingly isolated society. This light-hearted, accessible show invites you to join two clowns on a journey through self-care. With plenty of playful interaction, audiences and performers will clown around together to discover that laughter really can be the best medicine.

“I feel normal. You make me feel normal”<br/>Jamie lives with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Daniel Lives for his next pint. The only place Jamie feels accepted is in The Crown. But with austerity Britain in full force, it’s down to both boys to save their crown jewel.<br/>Who Cares is comedy/drama play exploring unlikely friendships and a fight for equality, even when the odds are set against you. This isn’t a story about disability. It’s a story about friendship, self-perception and a fair few pints.<br/>Written by emerging writer, Conor Hunt, the play examines the effects of CMT disease, a form of the long-term degenerative condition, Muscular Dystrophy (MD) and the limitations we place on ourselves, whilst giving MD a platform to raise awareness about the condition.<br/>Who Cares is generously supported by Arts Council England and Muscular Dystrophy UK.

Meet the Canaries, a motley crew of munitions workers doing their bit for the war effort. An air raid sends them on an explosive journey through euphoric emancipation, forbidden friendships and anarchic dreams.
Canary seamlessly combines physical theatre, sound design and historical archive material to offer audiences a rare insight into life during the First World War from the unique perspective of Britain’s munitions workers; The Canary Girls.
Created in collaboration with award winning Spanish theatre company Teatro En Vilo, 'Canary' tells real stories taken from Tyne & Wear Archives, The Devil's Porridge Museum and the Imperial War Museum.

Peckham 2020. Laquaya (15 - loves hip-hop, feminism, Peperami) has broken into Elyot’s house. Elyot (32) is reclusive, eccentric and probably quite lonely. He’s making a model boat and listening to Beethoven whilst checking off his life week by week on a chart on the wall.<br/>Watch this slightly odd couple go on a humorous and heart-warming journey from denial to acceptance, overcoming extreme difference and fear of vulnerability to realise that deep down, the essence of each of them make for a perfect match.<br/>Essence explores what it’s like to be lonely, how much it takes to let people in, and how the messy bits of life are ultimately where the gold lies.<br/>Essence is supported by The CULTIVATE Bursary, in Association with COMMON and the Newbury Corn Exchange.

Sea levels are rising. Wildlife is becoming extinct. We’re drowning in plastic.
But everyone is using Paper Straws, isn’t that something? <br/>Taking place in changing time frames, we follow the lives of three people brought up through the 'liferaft' system - a scheme that re-homes children from places deemed unlivable because of the changing climate. Now in their adult lives, and each having very different relationships to how climate change has shaped their identities, they get a calling: it's time to step up and do something. <br/>Part surreal comedy, part family drama set against the backdrop of our looming climate catastrophe, the characters are forced to decide 'how far would you go to save the world'? <br/>Please note: Paper Straws is an experiment in sustainable theatre-making, from the rehearsal room to the stage. This performance is a Work In Progress.
Cast and further creative team to be announced.

Heidi Regan gives her always surreal take on daily worries, the future and whether she and her girlfriend will have a baby. She is trying to be even more honest and simultaneously more silly in this show as she thinks the world has become unhelpfully terrifying.

Marked as 'One to Watch' by the Independent, Elliot Steel is a rising talent on the UK's comedy circuit. Receiving critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with his show Merked in 2019, you won't want to miss this brand-new work in progress show.
‘Astute quips which leave us all in tears from laughing’ ****1/2 - Short Com
‘His millennial pearls of wisdom definitely deserve bigger crowds’ **** - The List
As seen on Comedy Central's Roast Battle and Live from the Comedy Store, and as heard on BBC Radio 1's Comedy Lounge and BBC Radio 4. Best Debut Show Nominee at Leicester Comedy Festival 2015.

A comedy lecture about how we cope with climate change and what we can do about it, from the 'attractively impish' (Guardian) environmental researcher and comedian Dr Matt Winning. The world as we know it is coming to an end regardless of whether we want it to or not. Here Matt explores what that means and considers what it must be like being a teenager nowadays compared to when he was young.<br/>As seen/heard on Unspun with Matt Forde, BBC Three, BBC Radio 4, BBC Scotland, BBC Radio Scotland and his podcast Operation Earth where he interviews comedians about climate change.<br/>'Everything a Fringe show should be: hilarious, personal, inventive, and something that will stay with you for some time to come' ***** (EdFestMag.com).
'Winning's sharp wit and intelligence allows him to educate as he entertains' ****½ (Sunday Post).

PICK OF THE PLEASANCE 2019 AWARD WINNER
Supported at Vaults by The Pleasance<br/>A 'breathtakingly sad and intensely funny' true-story of Rosa Hesmondhalgh's ovarian cancer treatment aged 23. The 5 star sell-out hit of Edinburgh Fringe is returning to London. Madame Ovary is a life-affirming show about the importance of love when your world comes crashing down.<br/>It's January and Rosa is writing her resolutions. This is her year. She is going to stop going out with plonkers, start doing yoga and write some really good art. But before she's had time to delete her dating apps and get into downward dog, she's diagnosed. With ovarian cancer. And it's spread. Suddenly faced with hospitals, chemotherapy and her own mortality, Rosa's new goal for the year ahead is to survive it. Based on Rosa’s real-life blog, Madame Ovary explores the typical struggle a 20-something has with trying to stay relevant and the less typical struggle of trying to stay alive.<br/>"Breathtakingly sad and intensely funny” Broadway Baby
'Devastating and beautiful and true' Caitlin Moran
***** (ThreeWeeks, Edinburgh Reporter, Young Perspective, Within Her Words, Sincerely Amy, ITalkTelly)
**** (Broadway Baby, Miro Magazine, The Upcoming)

Gay investigative journalist Babatunde ‘Babs’ Okonkwo has come to visit his lesbian best friend Regina ‘Regi’ Abengowe in Lewisham, south London. With mounting pressures back in Nigeria, where homosexuality is illegal and escalating dangers for their partners, Babs and Regi hatch a plan to get married. They hope this ‘cover’ will stop the threatening rumours and allow Babs to safely expose the inhumane treatment of LGBTQIA+ people in Nigeria, especially in the north where being gay is publishable by death. <br/>Between Waitrose shifts, Regi's undergraduate degree, and snippets of news from back home, Regi and Babs put their friendship to the test. With the help of Regi’s 89-year-old German Jewish neighbour and the ‘Mr & Mrs’ Board Game.<br/>But the storms are gathering in Nigeria. Regi records the acts of violence happening to their friends and Babs’s own brother threatens to betray him. As the wedding approaches, Regi and Babs must choose what they care about the most.
how we love is a new play about different types of love.

‘We are, each of us, a little universe’ - Carl Sagan
Nine piece, multi award-winning progressive brass band Perhaps Contraption (Les Enfants Terribles award winners 2019) take us on a curious audio-theatrical journey. <br/>Inspired by the words of cosmologist Carl Sagan, this unique gig-theatre experience describes the life-cycle of one extraordinary atom, and how our baffling, unlikely existence is intertwined with the universe. <br/>Expect an abundance of virtuosic musicianship, dynamic choreography and mesmerising contact juggling.<br/>Touching upon biology, spirituality and cosmology, Nearly Human is an epic and euphoric celebration of life and the universe; bursting with triumphant melodies, fascination and wonder.

Now that we’ve found love, what are we going to do with it?<br/>Sam and Rose had one of those head over heels romances that made sense of all the love songs. Years later after the devastation this love wreaked on their lives, they have a chance to put their story to bed or destroy each other in the process.<br/>Naomi Sheldon returns to VAULT festival after her smash hit Good Girl, with this fast paced, dark and sexually charged two-hander exploring who gets to be the bad guy and who walks away scot-free when toxic relationships end. Are the wounds we submit ourselves to in the name of love ever worth the scars? Would we do it all over again because although toxic, it made us feel alive?<br/>Good Girl won VAULT festival show of the week and Funny Women best show award before a month long run at Trafalgar Studios in 2018.

In Loyal Company is the incredible true story of missing World War II soldier and prisoner of War Arthur Robinson, written and performed by his great-nephew, David William Bryan.<br/>May 1941. Hitler’s bombs rain on Liverpool. Local packer, Arthur Robinson, joins up becoming a private in the 18th reconnaissance division. Deployed to Singapore, his ship is destroyed by Japanese dive bombers on arrival. Arthur is declared missing. This extraordinary true story of survival is a tour-de-force war epic.<br/>The show premiered at Edinburgh Fringe in 2018, selling out 30 shows in 27 days. Having then toured extensively throughout 2019, we returned to Edinburgh Fringe and sold out another 30 shows in a venue twice the size of 2018.

Are you happy now? Near-future stories drawing on Black Mirror, Margaret Atwood and the black comedy of Killing Eve. Focused on the stories of women, the plays feature all-seeing smart speakers, curing depression in unusual ways, a new way to choose a decent politician and how to look good in the afterlife. Decluttering, one of the pieces within the show, started life as a short story and was the runner-up in the Crime Writers’ Association Margery Allingham Prize 2019.

Mia and Mo have been to all the marches, turned off the heating and eaten the goldfish – but the climate’s still collapsing and they’re buckling under the pressure of saving the planet. Omelette is a new play by Anna Spearpoint (Theatre503), directed by Tash Hyman (JMK Award Finalist 2019) about climate anxiety, giving things up, and the pressure to do the right thing all the time.

Matt Hutson is a sweet, sensitive boy with too many feelings and a heart of gold. It's his main thing and all he talks about so you know it's true. When he's not reading you poetry by e e cummings or telling you about one of the times he cried in the woods, he writes songs of astounding beauty that demonstrate his incredible emotional depth and intellectual range. <br/>There is no ulterior motive to these songs WHATSOEVER and he actually hates it when he sees comedians or musicians that PRETEND to be deep to impress people or get people to snog them. <br/>____________________________________<br/>Matt Hutson has reached the Musical Comedy Awards final for the past three years - that's 2017/2018/2019, taking third place in 2017. He was selected for the BBC New Comedy Award in 2017 and he's performed comedy songs for Soccer AM on Sky Sports. <br/>'Emotional but Hilarious' (British Comedy Guide)
'It's Proper songwriting' (Chortle)

Sketch and character act The Death Hilarious is running out of options. Life is a plush arts cafe that he is politely being asked to leave. Facing emotional and financial debt, he presents a motley crew of characters old and slightly less old, all bleak, all pathetic, all exempt from UK tax law.<br/>Chortle Best Newcomer Nominee.
"A bold and unique new voice in comedy" - Steve Bennett, Chortle ****
"A superb comic actor, with an appeal that's equal parts poetic, menacing and vulnerable" - The Scotsman ****
"A real spark of originality and sense of fun" - Broadway Baby

A girl. An empty street. A half-eaten Subway.
And you. And you passing in the rain. Turning the corner when I saw you. <br/>A.A. is moving from Eastern Europe to the promised land of Guinness and gift shops: Dublin. <br/>Everyone says she’ll do well ‘cause she owns slacks and knows how to spell. But it turns out that you don't just grow out of working in retail. Or get on the property ladder. Or ascend the corporate ladder. Or own a ladder... without money. <br/>NOTCH is new solo show about sleeping rough on the streets of Dublin, exploring the links between xenophobia, mental health and homelessness. Croatian writer/actor Danaja Wass draws on her own experiences of a capital that has become increasingly polarized and daunting for people who are seen as foreign, inadequate, alien or simply ‘other’. <br/>Directed by Madelaine Moore LADYKILLER (VAULT Pleasance Award Winner 2019), ALGORITHMS, FATTY FAT FAT (VAULT Origins Award Winner 2019)

Comedian Micky Overman (Chortle Best Newcomer Nominee) delves into her early twenties when a minor medical issue resulted in a break-up (possibly), unemployment (briefly) and an encounter with an actual witch (totally).<br/>Also includes stories of family (specifically a 'ready-to-die' grandmother), relationships and life in Britain as an outsider.

Fearless writing and lighting fast wit make Fern an exceptional comedian. She wrote the sitcom 'Radges' for the BBC3 Online Comedy Feeds and has performed Stand Up on numerous TV shows. Prior to entering comedy Fern was a Guardian award-nominated journalist and has also spoken about topical issues on Radio’s 4’s The Today Programme. Fern is now touring her sold-out Edinburgh show ‘Power and Chaos’ across the UK and Europe.

Bonnie Knockers is a sex and relationships educator. Ruby Corkscrew is a mother of two. And both have a healthy appreciation for the bawdy and bonkers. Who better then to put on a sex-ed themed cabaret show?!<br/>Inspired by the government’s recent commitment to making Relationships and Sex Education a statutory subject in all schools by 2020, House of Burlesque brings you a sassy, silly and satirical social commentary on how we experience and are (mis-) educated about one of the core elements of our lives: featuring a range of burlesque, drag, cabaret and performance art which explores sex and relationships in all their messy, mundane and mysterious glory – with an educational twist... <br/>From STIs and sexuality, to pleasure, porn and parenthood, prepare for a show which – like a good lover – will tickle your funnybone, challenge your mind and broaden your horizons: all with your consent, and in safe, supportive, rhinestone-gloved hands.<br/>The latest new work from Tempest Rose's House of Burlesque, creator of House of Burlesque 2.0, Lock In and La Revue en Rose at Vault. The UK's top burlesque production company who have been ruffling feathers for over 10 years.

“What if I had grown up there instead of here? No, not Iraq – the other one.”<br/>Two passports, two names, one woman. Peyvand is British. Parisa is Iranian.<br/>When she was ten years old, Peyvand travelled from East London to Iran with her father to meet her family for the first time. Her British citizenship wasn’t recognised, and so she had to acquire an Iranian passport (and a new name) on arrival. Only now, Parisa is forbidden from leaving the country... at least for a little while.<br/>The story may sound familiar so far, but what happens to Parisa when Peyvand is finally allowed to come back “home”?<br/>Drag, poetry, puppetry and personal/archival interviews – all set to stripped back renditions of Persian pop classics – come together in this darkly funny, formally inventive theatrical mosaic about dual citizenship, home, the arbitrary boundaries of nation states, and what it will take to start the next revolution.<br/>Developed on Starting Blocks at Camden People’s Theatre, with additional development support from Soho Theatre Labs, Omnibus Theatre, and Arcola Theatre.

After selling out at The Arcola Theatre Women’s Writes comes to VAULT Festival 2020. A brand new event showcasing new writing from female identifying playwrights.<br/>Prepare to see three brand new, never performed short plays by emerging female playwrights brought to life by a professional company of directors and actors. Step into three different worlds of complex, intricate female characters with none of those boring archetypal forms. Featuring woman who are courageous, intelligent and equally fallible. The three plays will be chosen from hundreds of submissions to Women's Writes with each writer wanting to challenge the current image we see and to redress the balance with new female voices.<br/>Women's Writes returns but this time with brand new short plays. We’ve already seen women learning to love their bodies, women exposing the mental health side effects of The Pill, fighting for tighter gun control laws, grappling with sibling relationships and embracing queer identity - so the question is where will our new writers take us?<br/>PROGRAMME;<br/>A Guide to NOT being a Shit Feminist by Gaby Foely and Poppy Sutch<br/>How to Make it to you 30th Birthday Avoiding any and All Danger by Morgan Drew-Glasgow<br/>Neighbourhood Watch by Chloe Ellen Weare<br/>Women's Writes is a new venture between writer, actor & producer Alex Critoph and producer Laura Dickens (CDG) created to challenge the female stereotype seen in plays and on screen. Women's Writes provides a platform to celebrate female driven plays and unique female voices.

At the time of writing, James' best idea for a new show is to kidnap Phil Wang and hold him hostage until someone publishes a five-star review.<br/>“A heavyweight hour of stand-up and storytelling ... It’s heart-in-mouth stuff. His show is a knockout.” **** The Guardian<br/>“A magnificent mix of stand-up, theatre and memoir which packs a powerful punch” ***** iTalkTelly<br/>“Compelling and poignant” **** The Scotsman

Austerity, free porn and "cashless society"; the golden age of of the strip club is long gone, but women keep auditioning with dreams of paying mortgages, supporting their families and pursuing their artistic careers, and those who stay are working harder than ever. Is stripping still worth it? As clubs all over the world close, what will happen to the thousands of women using their special skills and talents to earn a decent living?<br/>Based on lived experiences, ANGELS looks at a typical night in the life of three strippers in London, and imagines a future that is already fast approaching.

Following successful runs at the Fringe Festivals in Edinburgh and Brighton, It’s Brit-ney Bitches is hitting the road in 2020. <br/>It’s Britney, Bitches is a new verbatim piece about the fans of international super-star Britney Spears. Leave Britney alone! This show follows the story of fans of Britney along with some of your favourite songs. Stories are taken from interviews with fans outside a Britney concert, online articles and videos, whilst travelling along the highs and lows of this superstars career. This show is “Hysterical, heartwarming and full frontal fun!” Tales of coming out, addiction and abuse and, most importantly, Britney Spears.