Today's full programme, more choices & comment
What if making a baby were as simple as ticking a box. <br/>In the not-too-distant present, gene splicing has taken the queer family to a whole new level. Sigrid and Jim are a normal couple - they laugh, they fight, they make up. But when it comes to starting a family, will their relationship stand the test-tube of time? <br/>Follow these two queer womxn as they navigate the edges of morality in a dystopian tale of genetic engineering, baby showers and losing love.
On Arriving is a new one-woman play, exploring a young refugee’s fight for survival, as her country falls apart before her eyes. <br/>We are transported back and forth through memories as she shares her journey; from the familiarity of joking with friends and navigating young love, to what it means to lose loved ones and what we call home.<br/>Presented through a non-linear structure - reflecting the way we recall memories - this brave, poetic play looks at the human moments of one person’s choice to leave a place they have known their entire life, to set off for something unknown.<br/>Sophia Eleni performs with deep, personal connection to the story of home and war, her own family having been made refugees when fleeing Cyprus in 1974 after the Turkish invasion.<br/>The play is directed by Cat Robey, Deputy Artistic Director of Jermyn Street Theatre.<br/>It is written by Ivan Faute, an award winning playwright from the US, who has worked with Bosnian refugees in America and minority students in Vietnam, where he lived for several years.<br/>Praise for the earlier short version:<br/>“With Cat Robey directing, it is of course performed with compassion and care. Actress Sophia Eleni ably captures all the anger, frustration and desperation from having to leave the most important thing behind.” ????View From The Gods<br/>“A strongly performed and emotionally charged piece of theatre.” LondonTheatre1
Mo is the newly elected Head of State of Nechora – a country so tiny, it’s literally not even on the map. Inspired to get into politics by the two women he admires the most – his beloved Grandnana and pop sensation Ariana Grande – Mo is now determined to host a world changing summit on the climate emergency. But when he receives the customary congratulatory calls from world leaders, his approach is so unorthodox and his country so politically insignificant that rather than discuss global affairs, the leaders instead begin unburdening themselves of their own personal problems. Suddenly, Mo finds himself the trusted therapist of the world’s most powerful leaders and soon realises that the fate of the entire planet rests in his hands...
The ‘remarkable’ (Scotsman) and bite-sized Jack AG Britton presents Mighty; a TED-talk-meets-theatre show that combines comedy, live music and spoken word to ask the big (or little) question: should we be taking Heightism more seriously?
Often whimsical, sometimes woeful, Mighty delves into masculinity, body image and mental health in a documentary performance that could just about make it onto the best rides at Alton Towers.
'Hilarious and thought provoking' **** Three Weeks
Joe has always been a nerd. As a kid he was unaware of it. As a teenager he hid it. As a twenty-something he owned it. But as Joe turned 30, two things occurred to him. Firstly, humanity had been given 12 years to save the world from climate chaos, and what was Joe doing? Playing games and watching films, that's what. Secondly, he'd always felt like the fandoms he belonged to gave him a community when he was isolated. But, as he looked closer, it seemed some of those communities had become perpetrators of the very things they once provided respite from. It's like Buzz Lightyear said: "You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain." Wait...what?<br/>Fanboy is a love-hate letter to the things we adore absolutely, unconditionally and obsessively. It also asks questions about the nature of fandom. Is our relationship with pop-culture and nostalgia preventing us from engaging with the present? Are we worshipping false gods? And - when Donald Trump claims he could shoot someone and not lose voters - just how far will fans go for their idols? <br/>Multi-award-winning Worklight Theatre (How to Start a Riot, Labels, Monster) return to VAULT Festival to present a work-in-progress of their brand new show. Written by Fringe First winner Joe Sellman-Leava, and directed by Yaz Al-Shaater, Fanboy is a blend of storytelling, comedy and performance art. Fast-paced, funny, and highly visual, expect mini-versions of your favourite films. Like Harry Potter in 60 seconds. The Marvel Cinematic Universe in 60 seconds. And Gone in 60 Seconds in 60 seconds. Expect hand-drawn fan-art filling the floor, slash fiction and haikus filling the air, and the smell of the 90s filling your nostrils...whatever that means.<br/>And expect more quotes, references and easter eggs than Pixar films have Randy Newman songs!
Meet Miss Donny.
Life hasn't quite turned out the way she thought it would when she accepted her sash and crown, stood on a podium in Trilogy nightclub back in 2007.
No-one goes out any more. Tinder is shit. And she's pretty sure her dad is dying.
Things couldn't get much worse. Until she sits on a Cactus...
Naked.
This show explains how it’s hard to navigate a trans experience in a world that doesn’t fully understand it, when you’re also trying to figure it out yourself. Come and have a dance, a laugh and let's climb in and out of the box together.<br/>A story told entirely through lip sync, Melody uses a collage of sound clips ranging from The Prodigy to Piers Morgan to answer questions like What does non-binary even mean? and Are you a boy or a girl? As well as querying all the things that make us us.<br/>This one person non-binary cabaret performance explores gender identity, self-discovery and acceptance, using the personal experiences of writer and performer Melody Sproates.
In an age of global mobility, what does it mean to be “home”? It’s a question that’s asked a lot these days - but never quite in the way that Tal Naveh’s chosen for this stylish, evocative show. Her story stars three women, and a big pile of sand: a versatile and malleable medium, which the performers shape and play with throughout their hour on stage. Sometimes they use it as a literal sand-pit, sometimes they shape it like tufts of meringue, yet later, under a colder light, it might be the dust of the tomb.
Read the full review.
From the heart of the sea is a devised live performance that explores the concept of land through the physical and emotional connection with home. <br/>We invite the audience into a playful experience of touching sea stories through materials.
At the show we are looking for partners to swim with us in the sea.
It's scary, sometimes wild and deep and we don't know how to paddle.<br/>We can share how we learn to swim
and who choose where the border will pass
and in which country we are now.<br/>We invite you to a space where touching, laughing and crying is allowed.
A moment to look back at where we came from, and where we are now.<br/>We will change houses but take with us the ground.
No more playing alone, because soon you will come
and my sandcastle will become your grave
and your grave will become my garden.
The Kabobot fight will land everywhere and
the brooms will clean what they can, but our pieces
will hide at the corners, deep in the heart of the sea.<br/>So let's build a home together just for a second.
To feel comfortable on the sofa and tell each other about a bad dream
or sing a happy song when we are sad.
We will keep telling the stories that play here with building and destroying, mum and dad, salt and water
The survivors of the sea and the ones that are swallowed by it.
The philosophical musings of an existential fool. Omar used to be on the left, his new position is ‘The Transcendental Centre’, think Lib Dem on acid. In an attempt to move away from liberal orthodoxy and shape his own world view, Omar risks losing all of his friends, by thinking for himself. A simmering offering of comical heresy served up by a delightful idiot.
Acclaimed comedian Sean McLoughlin ("The best comedian you haven't heard of yet" - Time Out) crashes through the wall to deliver a night of supreme stand-up to the people of London ahead of his second U.S. album release. He's opened for Bill Burr at the Royal Albert Hall, is the international tour support for Ricky Gervais and has made multiple appearances on Comedy Central, Viceland, Sirius XM, and had a role in Netflix sitcom 'After Life.' As well as performing six acclaimed solo shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Sean has performed at Montreal's Just For Laughs, Sydney Comedy Festival and Kilkenny Cat Laughs as well as regularly headlining shows across Europe.
Five parties. One big mouth. <br/>Bri's not who she used to be, so she's revisiting the five parties that changed her. A biting and heartfelt dark comedy about what it really means to be loud, this new play is a story of survival, an exploration of self-awareness and a lesson in how to throw a really good party. Sellout shows Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Pleasance Theatre "Best of Edinburgh" Season 2019. <br/>***** "Unforgettable" (Broadway Baby)
***** "A raw, triumphant and soaring one-woman odyssey" (Stage Whispers)
**** "Pure genius" (North West End)
**** (Feminist Fringe Review)
**** (Remote Goat)
Don't let the coming apocalypse get you down! Comedian David Mills is here to lead you through the impending global catastrophe toward the sunlit fields of the future. And he should know. He's crawled through plenty of life's darkest alleyways only to emerge wiser and funnier. After drugs, drag, death and drama, the only option left is optimism. <br/>'David Mills is rude, crude, tacky, vulgar, dirty, filthy, offensive, in the worst possible taste. Also blisteringly smart, achingly funny, uncompromisingly bold, staunchly unapologetic, blissfully original and completely, totally, absolutely enjoyable.' Broadway World
“He was a boy, she was a girl. Can I make it anymore binary?”<br/>When friends die and pronouns change, what's left of the memories that don't fit anymore? From childhood co-stars, through teenage rebellion, a moving and powerful autobiographical account about growing up queer in the mid-noughties, finding yourself, and losing a friend. Brought to life with storytelling, an original pop music score and way too many America’s Next Top Model references.
"You're here so I can keep on living. You're my legacy."<br/>Set in the near future as the climate crisis takes hold, Lana decides to clone herself so she can continue her life, relationship and digital presence. Lena takes on Lana's identity but the life and world she has inherited is not what she expected.<br/>Me Myself I is about how we continue to create meaning in a world that is disappearing.<br/>Brought to you by a team of multiple Off West End Award nominees, Me Myself I is written by Carla Grauls (Audible Emerging Writer, Nick Darke Award winner), directed by Andrew Twyman (Velvet - VAULT Festival, Pleasance Edinburgh Fringe, on tour) and presented by Holly White (Brilliant Jerks - VAULT Show of the Week 2018. Finding Fassbender - VAULT Festival, Pleasance Edinburgh Fringe).
Proudly presenting LGBTQFA!<br/>That's right, some of the best queer performers from leading London Improv Theatre The Free Association are putting on a show! Featuring a queer guest performer and a whole host of hilarious improv (naturally), this is one improv show that’s worth coming out to see...<br/>LGBTQFA are Luke Healy, Chloe Godman, James Barr, Doug Crossley, Ruairi McInerney, Liz Guterbock and Rob Sladden.<br/>This show is one of a series of hit improv shows presented by The Free Association in a two-week VAULT takeover. Other shows include Jacuzii, SORRY, The Badge: An Improvised Cop Show, I’m Not Here To Make Friends, The Nearly News Show, Starry Starry Eyes, RAD Party, Important Art and Minority Report. Book two for £15 or three for £20 as part of The Free Association Package Deal.<br/>Special Guests SHELF now announced!
Welcome to Beijing. Population: 21 million. Plus four Brits. Lost Laowais follows the intertwining lives of four expats in one of Asia’s largest metropolises and asks: can Westerners ever find a home in Chinese society?<br/>(L?owài ??. Noun. Colloquial term for a foreigner, literally 'old outsider'.)<br/>While translator Julian is looking for a flatmate, he meets Lisa, a British-born Chinese woman who has abruptly upended her life to teach English in a country that is quickly turning out not to live up to her expectations. Their initial meeting turns into a clash regarding the politics of China’s expatriate population. Meanwhile, celebrated writer and ‘old China hand’ Robert is beginning to tire of twenty years of feeling like an outsider. And ‘third culture kid’ Ollie is chafing under the pressures of overbearing diplomat parents whose lifestyle sees them uprooting their lives and moving across the world every few years. As the characters’ lives collide, Lost Laowais asks: how does the West approach China in the 21st century? And have we really moved on from our colonialist past?
We are seafarers. We catch fish, always have.<br/>The ocean is at the centre of all life. But especially for Julie and Simon, who have grown up with salt seeping into their bloodstream, their childhoods tangled up with the Cornish Coast. And the sea has always been there, sustaining generations of their families.<br/>But as adulthood looms on the horizon, and climate and ecological crisis shake the globe, Julie begins to dream of a life lived inland among the bright lights of the city, and Simon's nets keep coming back empty.<br/>Set amidst the decline of the British Fishing Industry, In My Lungs the Ocean Swells is a coming-of-age story, about holding on to who you think you are, in a world that is trying its best to shake that from your grasp.
Kayla MacQuarrie returns with a brand new work in progress: a character comedy performance drama wrestling with masks, identity and being fashioned by context. <br/>Kayla MacQuarrie is a heartfelt trans comedian described as "witty, honest, bold and enlightening" by audiences. Her previous show Traumatised played Soho Theatre and was awarded Best Comedy Show at the Brewery Fringe, now come see what she does next!<br/>More Audience Praise for Kayla MacQuarrie:
“An amazing, intimate, and powerful performance!”
“Queer stand-up at it’s finest.”
The UK's lowest energy double act (Crizards) explore the Wild West.
"Very clever, very wry, very well performed" Beyond the Joke
As seen on BBC Three