The FringeGuru guide to the VAULT Festival on on Saturday 22 February

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.

APPLE charts the story of Rosemary Clark as she goes on a journey of self-discovery from slut-drops in the Trocadero back to rural Jamaica. <br/>It's a darkly comic and introspective look at a less-than-rosy mother and daughter relationship. Rosemary's desperate to have a moment of truth and connection and decides her mother's wedding day is the perfect occasion.

After her life falls apart, Carys turns up for her first shift at a restaurant to find Simone preparing for the blood moon. Jason folding napkins. And Godfrey getting ready to leave the artisan-brunch-filled world he has made for himself behind. Their lives begin to weave into each other in small, strange ways, colliding, connecting, tangling. When Simone makes it her mission to get Carys to believe in something, anything, forgetting her old life is suddenly more difficult than Carys had planned. When you're too sad, too ambitious, too Scorpio for waiting tables, how do you make it through the day? Which parts of yourself do you let other people see, and which parts do you hide? A new play about hope, rage and gentrification. <br/>Godfrey was developed as part of The Monobox's Playstart initiative in 2018, and was long listed for the Royal Court's Lynne Gagliano Prize 2019.

This BBC-Featured show promises swords, duels, elephants, castles built of cheese and all of it completely and irrefutably true! Discover how the Baron invented Morris dancing, how his actions saved the Isle of Skye from sinking beneath the waves, why every fourth child in Bruges is named after him and other fantastically delightful stories. This show will delight adults and children with its wonderful joie de vivre and other pretentious words!<br/>This exciting new concept show features award-winning comedians and improvisers who are challenged by one another to invent outrageously exaggerated swashbuckling stories based on the The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. All they have is their wits, some silly hats and the suggestions of an audience full of giggling children (and their grown-ups) to ensure that all ends happily ever after!

‘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

“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.

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.

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.

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)

‘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.

“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 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).

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"

Pop-comedy maestros The Buzztones return to VAULT festival with a brand new hour of nonsense dubbed, for the sake of trying to find a theme, 'Guilty Pleasures'.<br/>We all have those songs and singers that we secretly love but wouldn't admit to, right? The Buzztones certainly do and have been "entertaining" audiences for the last nine years with their eclectic collection of medleys, mash-ups and musical mistakes.<br/>'Guilty Pleasures' is packed with the tracks and artists that you love, but probably shouldn't...<br/>...including The Buzztones themselves come to think of it. Join them for an hour of unadulterated, guilt-free musical pleasure.

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.

Join Fletcher for an intimate, up-beat hour of stupid jokes and gleeful set-pieces - including a bit where he levitates. Yeah, like off the ground and everything. <br/>Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer Nominee<br/> Time Out’s One To Watch<br/>“A total Pro”
**** The Times<br/>“A Star is born”
**** Metro

APPLE charts the story of Rosemary Clark as she goes on a journey of self-discovery from slut-drops in the Trocadero back to rural Jamaica. <br/>It's a darkly comic and introspective look at a less-than-rosy mother and daughter relationship. Rosemary's desperate to have a moment of truth and connection and decides her mother's wedding day is the perfect occasion.

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.

After her life falls apart, Carys turns up for her first shift at a restaurant to find Simone preparing for the blood moon. Jason folding napkins. And Godfrey getting ready to leave the artisan-brunch-filled world he has made for himself behind. Their lives begin to weave into each other in small, strange ways, colliding, connecting, tangling. When Simone makes it her mission to get Carys to believe in something, anything, forgetting her old life is suddenly more difficult than Carys had planned. When you're too sad, too ambitious, too Scorpio for waiting tables, how do you make it through the day? Which parts of yourself do you let other people see, and which parts do you hide? A new play about hope, rage and gentrification. <br/>Godfrey was developed as part of The Monobox's Playstart initiative in 2018, and was long listed for the Royal Court's Lynne Gagliano Prize 2019.

‘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

“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.

Acclaimed stand-up Dan Cook returns with a brand new hour of high energy, contemplative idiocy. <br/>An hour long distraction from the chaos of modern life via the medium of jokes. That's why you're here, looking for a show. To escape it all for an hour or so. And to laugh, please god, make me laugh (That's the voice of you - potential audience member - not me, I do not require/want you to make me laugh). <br/>I will explain more when you get here - don't be late, i've got a lot to get through.<br/>“Frenetic and hilarious... Superb” **** List
“This is excellent stand up” **** EdFestMag
“Had the crowd roaring with laughter” **** Three Weeks
***** One4Review
***** BroadwayBaby<br/>As seen on Toast of London (C4), Poldark (BBC1) and Absolutely Fabulous the Movie

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)

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).

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.

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.

Pop-comedy maestros The Buzztones return to VAULT festival with a brand new hour of nonsense dubbed, for the sake of trying to find a theme, 'Guilty Pleasures'.<br/>We all have those songs and singers that we secretly love but wouldn't admit to, right? The Buzztones certainly do and have been "entertaining" audiences for the last nine years with their eclectic collection of medleys, mash-ups and musical mistakes.<br/>'Guilty Pleasures' is packed with the tracks and artists that you love, but probably shouldn't...<br/>...including The Buzztones themselves come to think of it. Join them for an hour of unadulterated, guilt-free musical pleasure.

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.

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

Eleanor Morton presents brand new material on whatever the hell the world has become just now. Fresh, surreal material from one of Scotland's brightest rising stars and free-style rappers (citation needed)
Writer for BBC's News Quiz, Newsjack and The Now Show
As seen and heard on BBC Scotland
'Nuanced and exceedingly funny' **** Fest Mag, Fest Pick of The Fringe 2019
“A thoroughly enjoyable hour of accomplished and skilful stand-up” The Skinny
“Beautifully surreal” **** Fringe Monkey

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.

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)

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.

You know when your partner takes you to a party and then everyone starts putting their car keys in a bowl and pairing off with Carol from number forty -two’s husband Clive while you’re standing there holding a bowl of nachos cos you didn’t realise it was gonna be that kind of night?
This is that kind of night.
With comedy.
The names of sixty of your favourite sketch, character and stand up performers are put in a hat. From that 12 brand new sketch groups are created.
The only rule? They can’t work with anyone they have worked with before.
It’s not cheating if their partner knows about it right?
Each group has to come up with a 12 minute set of never seen before material and you the audience are gonna get to judge who the best is on the night.
The winning team each week will go on to fight it out in the final for the title of Comedy Swingers 2020.<br/>Heat One - Sat 8th Feb<br/>Group One<br/>Amy Gledhill - The Delightful Sausage
Kat Butterfield – Northern Power Blouse
Tom Burgess – Sam and Tom
Raphael Wakefield<br/>Group Two<br/>Chris Cantrill – The Delightful Sausage
Ed MacArthur
Natasha Granger – Swipe Right Theatre
Joz Norris
Pete Simpson - Pojj<br/>Group Three<br/>Anna Leong Brophy - Egg
Phillipa Carson – Just These Please
Rajiv Karia
Sam Nicoresti – Sam and Tom<br/>Group Four<br/>Alex Fox
Luke Rollason - Privates
Anna Piper – Hot Mess
Katie Davison – Next Best Thing<br/>Group Five<br/>Jordan Mitchell - Pelican
Marina Bye - Siblings
Seayonce
Conor Jatter – RH Experience
Len Blanco<br/>Heat Two - Sat 15th Feb<br/>Group One<br/>Ania Magliano
Frankie Thompson
Susie Scott – Bang Average Theatre
Serena Flynn<br/>Group Two<br/>Anna O'Grady – Anna and Helen
Alex Lynch
James Alexander - Pojj
Will Sebag-Montefiore – Just These Please<br/>Group Three<br/>Will Dixon – The RH Experience
Emma Hinds - Toucan
Isa Bonachera
Mark Jones - Sisters
Stuart Laws<br/>Group Four<br/>Hughie Stanley - Pojj
Jacob Lovick - LoveHard
Sinead Parker – Norris and Parker
Joshua George Smith – Sleeping Trees
Lucy Miller – M

Award winning Aussie oddball Josh Glanc unveils his latest absurd and wild character creations. Josh melds together nonsense with autobiographical stand-up in a whirlwind of props, sound effects and costumes. He doesn't know what the show will be yet, but whatever happens, he promises it will be a fun-filled hot loose mess of a ride and you're gonna love it! <br/>This isn't him writing this copy by the way, it's his manager. I write all his show copies. But he wanted to me to make sure that I mention that he really promises it will be fun and would really love you to come. He also told me to tell you that he thinks you're sexy. <br/>A ‘Joyous purveyor of stage oddity ****' The Guardian. <br/>'An extraordinary talent ****' The Scotsman. <br/>'Exciting, chaotic and unpredictable ****' Ed Fest Magazine

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.