The FringeGuru guide to the VAULT Festival on on Tuesday 10 March

In an age where youth is revered and women feel compelled to polyfill every crack on their face, what space is there for the wisdom of the elder.<br/>Two worlds collide when Chia awakes in a pool of blood and her screams stir the Sisters Three into motion. Can their poetically infused prose stop the bleeding and mend the broken web? What are the stories that Chia needs to hear to thrive? <br/>Queen O’Hallows is tasked to connect with Lilith her mortal persona, to gather a circle of modern women to share their blood stories. But first Lilith must face her past. What happens to the pain and shame carried through generations when stories are left untold?<br/>Blood Rites explores women’s rites of passage and the power that comes from intergenerational connection.

The Kola Nut Does Not Speak English explores the cultural history of a first generation Nigerian-British woman of Igbo descent<br/>A gripping new play from multi award winning company Nouveau Riche. Written by Tania Nwachukwu, we follow the people of Eze as they fight to preserve their beloved kola tree. <br/>Using African theatre practices, call and response, dance, song, and poetry, this is a loud, unapologetic, passionate embrace of who we are and the importance of a Nigerian-British woman preserving her own history.<br/>The Brand Nouveau Initiative, in partnership VAULT Festival, brings together a group of the best black and minority ethnic emerging artists ready to take the next step in their careers. The scheme provides opportunities to expand their networks, receive first class mentoring from our award winning team, and benefit from creative space, time and research opportunities.<br/>Following successful productions at New Diorama and Soho, this is your chance to experience the next generation of theatre practitioners collaborating together to create exciting, brand new work.<br/>Praise for Nouveau Riche -<br/>WINNER - Underbelly and New Diorama UNTAPPED Award (Queens of Sheba)
BEST NEW PLAY - Off West End Award Nomination (Typical)
BEST MALE PERFORMANCE - Off West End Award Nomination (Typical)

Remember that 16-year-old house party when you did that thing with that boy in your mate’s parents’ bathroom? Me Too.<br/>Superman is an experimental, gig-theatre project working with students and young people to unravel ideas of consent when we’re young through daring alternative music, chorus work, spoken word and soundscape.<br/>Stemming from a lack of education and confusion around consent and relationships as teenagers and young adults; Superman uses stories and interviews with young people about early sexual experiences and rape culture to encourage conversation around the taboo.<br/>Following Rose Eye's Superman workshop at the University of East Anglia and it's sell out performance at Camden People's Theatre's 'Calm Down Dear' Festival in 2019, Superman is coming to The Vaults Festival for 2020.<br/>Join us in challenging, confusing and interrogating ideas of consent by jumping unashamedly into the depths of the 'grey area'.

A seamless blend of sharp spoken word poetry, dark comedy and original music, #Hypocrisy examines Western privilege, and reminds us that in complacency lies the most heart-stopping terror.
Lost in the bliss of foreign travel, Imogen joyfully succumbs to the spoils of Western privilege. Returning to Scotland, a harsh society confronts her. Dangerous politicians prevail, fake news is king and social media sympathy pours forth for Western terror victims, yet backs turn on the migrant crisis. What staggering hypocrisy.

He’s dead, and it’s her job to prepare and present his body for his family’s final goodbye. She often imagines what each person’s life was like. But today she doesn’t have to imagine who he is. She knows him.<br/>Faced with the body of the man who raped her eleven months ago, When We Died is a striking new play about one woman’s choice to confront her trauma and tell her story, on her terms.<br/>An early version of the play was longlisted for the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting in 2017. Extracts have been presented as work-in-progress for PILOT Nights and China Plate’s First Bite Festival (both at Midlands Arts Centre, 2019). When We Died premieres at VAULT Festival after further development supported by Pleasance Theatre’s LABS residency, the University of Northampton and the Travers Foundation.<br/>The show contains an account of rape, and descriptions of dead bodies. Please note, at no point is rape presented onstage.

Until now he’s just known Mum, Dad and his sister. Life is safe, settled and secure. Yes, he’s been curious about his origins but no more than that. As he turns eighteen, much to everyone’s surprise, it’s Martha, his birth mother and Melissa, his birth sister who come looking for him. The events that follow, leave Joel embroiled in a family history, that changes his life and identity forever. <br/>There’s long been a fascination with blood ties and those broken, reunited and reshaped. Adoption reunion is epic and complex in nature and never easy, but it's this unease that needs to be heard. <br/>Giving Up Marty is a brand new play by Karen Bartholomew. Spare and gutsy, it takes no prisoners. <br/>Coram/Paines Plough/Soho Theatre/ - R+D audience reactions<br/>'This important piece of theatre! It truly represents a ‘slice of life’ that often is not presented or explored.'<br/>'Anything that demystifies adoption is good thing.' <br/>'It is not something that is ever going to disappear from our western nuclear family societal structure. I do not have any friend who does not know someone who is one of those characters.' <br/>'You don’t often see this stuff on stage/film/tv that deals with so many sides of the adoption story.'<br/>Supported by Arts Council England

Take Care follows the real-life story of Pam, a woman struggling to move her mother into a care home that’s closer to her. <br/>Along the way we meet other carers, NHS staff, politicians, journalists and MP’s all involved in the care system for older people.<br/>Darkly humorous, this documentary play shines a light on the hidden voices of carers and exposes the workings of a care system in desperate need of repair.<br/>***** 5 stars from The Scotsman
“Beautiful, heartbreaking and comical. This is more than theatre, this is real”<br/>***** 5 stars from Theatreworld
“This ingenious dark comedy will prick your conscience” <br/>All text in the production is word-for-word what people have said to us either in interviews or published in press releases and public speeches. The interviews have been collected over 5 years and we continue to add to them.<br/>After each show there is an optional informal post-show discussion at the Time For Change space at VAULT Festival. It is an opportunity to talk about the issues and subject matter raised in the production, share experiences, carry on the discussion around care and generally meet people and chat. Everyone is welcome, so come along, grab a drink, and say hello!

In Brexit Britain, can love survive borders?<br/>Award-winning playwright Michelle Sewell presents a sharp and quick-witted political drama that cuts through the heart of our immigration system to examine what it means for modern relationships.<br/>UK Visas and Immigration Officers scrutinise and dissect the minutiae of a young couple's turbulent marriage to decide on whether 3717 photos, Tesco receipts and occasional indulgences from Ann Summers qualifies them as being in love and able to remain in the UK.<br/>The play is followed by a panel discussion around Brexit, immigration, and the future of the arts, featuring high profile representatives from the political, charitable and artistic sectors.

First solo show in 15 years from award garnering idiot! The come back absolutely NOBODY has been clamouring for.
Come see a middle aged fool ramble on and on and probably play some tunes, if you like that sort of thing.
Ed Gaughan is a comedian, writer, actor, director and musician. He worked as a contributing writer and starred in BAFTA nominated cult movie 'Skeletons' which won the main prize at the Edinburgh film festival. Ed was nominated for The Peter Sellers Award For Comedy for his work on the film.
"The finest cult film to have come from Britain since 'Withnail and I" Film4
"Eccentric, heartfelt and very funny" Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian ****(4 stars)
Ed is a member of the award winning London Snorkelling Team, a music/comedy/animations collective.
"The London Snorkelling Team is a seriously quirky musical quartet featuring two animators and two comic cults, Will Adamsdale and Ed Gaughan, hilarious." Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard
Along with regular collaborators Will Adamsdale, Andrew Buckley and members of the Snorkelling Team Ed co founded Night Of Stuff, a 21st century Vaudeville scratch night. The gang then went on to create the show 'The Lost Disc', directed by Tom Parry, which played The Vaults Festival 2018, Latitude Festival, Mach Fest and a 3 week run at the Soho Theatre.
"A musical detective story, part comedy thriller, part concert experience, performed by a multi tasking cast of impossible talent" Stewart Lee
Ed has appeared as an actor in numerous films and TV shows including Fantastic Beasts and Black Mirror and is much in demand voice actor for radio and animation appearing as the voice of Baron Greenback and a multitude other characters in the BBC reboot of Dangermouse alongside Stephen Fry, Kevin Eldon and Alexander Armstrong.
Ed is also a prolific director and has directed shows for many of the UK's best loved comedians, sketch troupes and clowns including Milton Jones, Pappy's, Josie Long and Spymonkey.

Tokyo 2020: Yu, 39, career-driven but recently dumped by her long term job, keeps beating her head against societal pressures to get married. Sick of the patriarchy and feeling powerless, she struggles to fit in her own country. Can the answer to her self-doubt lie in following her great-grandmother Takako’s footsteps and travelling to San Francisco? Armed with an airplane ticket and Takako’s diary, Yu sets out to find herself. <br/>San Francisco 1920: Takako, 16, stares at the numerous men waiting on the dock. Armed with only a photo and a marriage certificate, she tries to recognise her new husband who she has never met, in a land she has never been. Facing down hostility and cultural differences, Takako, one of the many Japanese Picture Brides of the early 20th century, bravely sets out to create a home for herself in America. Lonely in a land that both welcomes and resents her, she finds solace in keeping a diary where she writes about her struggle. Can her diary help light the way for a great-granddaughter who she will never meet? <br/>BAABA’S FOOTSTEPS straddles time and place, but remains a story about love and belonging. Touching, infuriating and downright funny, Yu and Takako’s stories intertwine as two generations of women struggle to find their way in societies that do not accept them. From Japanese-American internment camps during WW2 to sexist work policies of 2020, we vortex through three eras by the hands of two women, struggling to find their places in lives set up for them by others. <br/>BAABA’S FOOTSTEPS is a new play, written by Susan Hingley, premiering at the VAULT Festival. It is proudly supported by the Arts Council England.<br/>- Lemon House Theatre on BAABA’S FOOTSTEPS:
"BAABA’S FOOTSTEPS takes you across different locations and time periods, but remains a story about home. It balances poignant moments with laugh-out-loud ones, with Susan weaving them together to create a story that shows that you can question your identity at any age.”

Join 2019 Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominees, Crybabies, for their smash hit debut hour of absurdist adventure psycho-drama. <br/>Germany. 1945. War? When the Allies learn of a sinister Nazi plot that could spell the end of the world, it's down to three significantly damaged failures to save the day. <br/>Follow captain of banality Skipps McCoy, celebrity superspy Chester Daggerboot, and Porky, for an offbeat adventure through the seductive waters of World War II, truly the Godfather Part II of world wars.<br/>**** "Highly impressive" Guardian
**** "High concept farce of the first order" Telegraph
**** “Head and shoulders above many sketch shows” Chortle
**** “A wave of absurdist wonderment” Skinny
**** “Promises laughs from start to finish” Three Weeks
**** “A touching emotional heart" Beyond The Joke
***** "Clever and genuinely funny...go and see it" Mumble Comedy

A new live music play about love, loss and lubrication. Based on a true story and pop-punk feminism. <br/>From the producers of the Fringe First award winning show Bobby & Amy and Three Weeks award winner writer Joel Samuels, comes a powerful gig theatre show that follows the coming-of-age story of a young woman spanning across eight years, from nineties shag bracelets to 21st century non-monogamous relationships.<br/>Featuring original music inspired by an eclectic mix of bands from Le Tigre to Veruca Salt, Sugar Coat is an exhilarating 60 minute journey of loud music, sexual content and many talented bad-ass womxn.<br/>**<br/>Sugar Coat is a 16 year old girl with good marks and a flair for music. But when she starts Year 13, her life changes forever. From bunking classes and using fake ID to snogging boys with greasy skin - she’s about to have sex for the first time. However, things don’t go exactly to plan. In fact, as the years go by, she has no idea what the plan ever was and how she’s supposed to navigate in this sexually confusing modern world.<br/>And she is not the only one. Around 300,000 women in the UK suffer from Vaginismus, an estimated 1 in 4 pregnancies in end in miscarriage, and non-monogamous relationships are at an all time high. Sex is anything but easy.<br/>Renowned director Celine Lowenthal, will lead the five strong cast of womxn actors and pop-punk musicians in an uplifting and liberating show about puberty, sex, feminism and reclaiming your body.

At the time of writing this description (25th October 2019) the Hong Kong AntiELab protestors are entering their 20th week of action. Where will they be as you are reading this? Freedom-Hi is a synthesis, and by March 2020, possibly a retrospective, of theatre and performance art made by UK based Hong Kong and British East Asian artists during the protests. Personal experiences and geo-political commentary combine in an act of total theatre. We don’t know how this ends, this will never end-every thing about this show is subject to change. <br/>Peace is not peaceful
Acquiescence is violence
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(Eternal Peace by Gabby Wong) <br/>Artist line up (subject to change): Bonnie Chan, Chung Yik Sau, Gabby Wong, Isabella Leung, Daniel York-Loh and Jan Chan.
Compiled by Kim Pearce for Papergang Theatre.
Produced by Clarissa Widya for Papergang Theatre. <br/>Image by Alexander Newton / Image Design by Kim Pearce

It's the July 25th 2019. It's hot, too hot!<br/>The metaphorical gates of hell have opened for new Prime Minister Boris Johnson, so screw it, let's extend our overdraft limits for a cheeky pint.<br/>'I've had a week that even Craig David would shy from writing a song about, and now it's just too fuck'n hot'.<br/>A bold, physical and frankly piping hot piece of new writing. A dark comedy about friendship, fear and a fucker of a week. <br/>VAULT Festival Award Winners RedBellyBlack Theatre present '39 degrees'.<br/>Directed by Alistair Wilkinson (Digging Deep, VAULT Festival 2019, 'Crucial theatre' -Lyn Gardner)<br/>* * * * * ‘Mesmerising’ - The UpComing review for 'Ok, Bye'<br/>* * * * * 'Robust and elegant, full of the marrow of life' - LondonTheatre1 review for 'A Year From Now’ <br/>PS. (Nelly's 'Hot In Here' will not be featured, not even once)!<br/>Written by Kate Goodfellow
Choreographed and performed by Ruth Newberry-Payton and Kate Goodfellow.

The Haus Of Kunst is a collective of diverse artists, a platform for established and embryonic artists to experiment and showcase modern and classic art forms.
A diverse group of Artists each bringing their own unique flair to the show, meticulously curated each one as varied and eclectic as the next.<br/>The Haus Of Kunst is ready to open her doors to more voyeurs who want a little something special for the hearts and minds
Guests from all walks of life are encouraged to delve into the mysterious waters of The Haus Of Kunst, to be fully immersed in a new approach to live entertainment, each room of the Haus is intriguing and beguiling. <br/>Bold and daring The Haus Of Kunst celebrates passionate, disciplined, craftsmanship: and boasts an elite and diverse roster of international and local artists, from the UK right through to Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, Russia, Greece and more.
Spectators will be charmed, teased and challenged with a dazzling array of performance disciplines: Actors, Singers, Musicians, Dancers, Drag, Burlesque, Circus, pole, sideshow, clowning, queer art and many more.<br/>A cabaret revolution is upon us! We intend on being pioneers – Come through our front door if you dare...

Safe Sex was Fierstein's personal response to living in the time of AIDS. It was his attempt to deal with his own confusion about AIDS. This show is really from the heart, and it has all the anger and frustration of those responding to the AIDS crisis.
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, commonly known as AIDS, first emerged in the United States in the year 1981. Cases of the disease were first reported in Los Angeles and New York when young, healthy, gay men began to develop unusual infections as a result of weak immune systems. Safe Sex is a humorous and honest tale of two male lovers living their lives together in the early years of the AIDS crisis in New York City. Is it best to abstain from sex altogether? Or is avoiding sex an excuse for being intimate? How far do we let fear control our lives. Fierstein brings to life with feeling and emotion the difficulties and joys of loving.

"Seeking apprentice for highly paid job opportunity working for hazardous waste removal company. Willing to get their hands dirty. Relevant experience not necessary. Competitive remuneration package". Apply within.<br/>Francine and Marla, employees of a hazardous waste removal company, are on the hunt for a new apprentice.  Having just escaped a life of misfortune, Belinda walks through the door, ready for her interview.  The process is absurd, but it’s not a problem for hopeful applicant Belinda who, unbeknownst to her future employees, is overqualified... VERY overqualified. Unfortunately, this job isn’t quite what it seems and someone is about to find themselves in a very sticky situation.<br/>Following its success as part of Flux Theatre’s EMERGE Night at The Bunker in June 2019, BIN JUICE showcases this all-female dark comedy, showing the dirty side of an already filthy job. Supported by an award-winning team comprised of writer Catherine Kolubayev, director Jessica Daniels, Resident Director of Girl From the North Country, and producer Kitty Wordsworth, BIN JUICE is a story of loyalty, revenge and secrecy. We’re all hiding from something... or someone. <br/>“Some jobs require getting your hands a little dirty... ”

Having spent her early years living in Mexico, actor-comedian, Miztli Rose, suddenly found herself living in rainy old Brighton one summer- little did she know she would never see her Mexican family again. Caught between an early carefree bohemian upbringing verses the rigid institutions of British culture, Miztli has always felt a little bit lost. Now at the age of 30 and caught between an ever-extending adolescence and attempting to navigate her way through adulthood, she’s started to think about all the different people she could have become. Join her in her brand new storytelling comedy show as she explores how the pivotal moments in our lives shape the people we become... Expect a lot of British cynicism mixed with a traditional Mexican Fiesta!