The FringeGuru guide to the VAULT Festival on on Thursday 30 January

"Don't stack me away in little boxes to collect dust!" <br/>Laugh and cry as Joann Condon (Little Britain, Dad's Army: The Lost Episodes, The Office, Edge of Heaven, Cradle to Grave) presents Little Boxes. "My new one woman show lifts the lid on all the little boxes that are created for us: Mum, woman, actor, writer, comic, cook, cleaner... who am I... and who are you... really? <br/>Have you ever felt that you have been unfairly categorised, pigeon-holed, "boxed-up"? You want to scream, "That's not me! You don't know me!" It happens to all of us; friends, family and people you've just met put you in a box and keep you there. And yes, we do it to ourselves and to other people.
Well, actress and comedian Joann, has had enough. "Just because we look a certain, way and speak a certain way, and are of a certain age, people make snap decisions about who we are." Follow Joann on her journey of discovery, as she sorts through the boxes she has accumulated during her life.

It's the hottest summer on record. Jack is pedalling fast to join Extinction Rebellion protests that have taken over the city and captured the world’s imagination. This is the movement they have been waiting for and they’re going to give it everything they’ve got. <br/>But at home Jack’s girlfriend is furious. She supported Jack when they lost their job, when they came out as trans and now she’s expected to support Jack as they disappear into their latest obsession with Extinction Rebellion. <br/>As Jack cycles towards the protests the most recent argument reverberates through them. <br/>Will Jack keep pushing forward regardless of the cost to their great love? Or will they chill out, ask for help and give themselves space to heal. <br/>An intimate solo show told as the speed of bike.

Can you remember your first time? Nathaniel can’t seem to forget his. To be fair, he has had it playing on repeat for the last 15 years.<br/>Now the party is over, the balloons have all burst and he’s left living his best queer life: brunching on pills and Googling kangaroo vaginas, ancient condoms and human cesspits on a weekday morning... or is he? <br/>Fresh from his critically-acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe debut, award-winning HIV+ theatre-maker Nathaniel Hall presents this ‘hilarious’ and ‘heart breaking’ autobiographical solo show about growing up positive in a negative world. <br/>Join him as he blows the lid on the secret he’s been keeping all these years.<br/>***** “Moving and educational” The Stage (included as one of the best shows at the Edinburgh Fringe 2019)<br/>“Packs an emotional punch that resonates even after you’ve left the theatre” The Guardian<br/>"An unabashedly heart on sleeve crowd, pleasing-show... crucial for raising awareness of HIV" Lyn Gardner, StageDoor<br/>***** "Compelling, motivating, triumphant" BroadwayBaby<br/>***** "A must see" ThreeWeeks<br/>***** "One hell of a ride" Northern Soul<br/>**** "Universal and deeply moving" Attitude<br/>“A truly remarkable story of triumph, I was in awe” Russell T. Davies<br/>Winner of the inaugural Venues North Edinburgh Fringe Award 2019.<br/>Supported by Arts Council England, Waterside Arts and Creative Industries Trafford. Proud to be partnered with George House Trust, Terrence Higgins Trust and HIV Scotland.

The Feathers return to the VAULTS with Tarot, their **** Edinburgh fringe hit, reworked and reimagined, conjuring up a night of circus, music, improvisation and divination. Hosted by the enchanting Ruby Wednesday and accompanied by our phenomenal soul-funk band Yoshi, audience tarot readings guide our performers in this unpredictable tale, where all is possible, and everything is unexpected. When the first card is turned our journey begins. Will the fool become the empress or the king lose his crown? Will the lovers be trapped in the caverns of the moon or the stars shine down on the hapless hanged man? You can shuffle the deck, you can lay down the cards, but the fates will dictate who will fly and who will fall.
Our Arcana adventure has taken us full circle from the underground tunnels of the Vaults back in May 2019 where we presented our atmospheric R and D findings to sell out audiences. We then headed to the Edinburgh Fringe where we performed in the brand new Assembly Bijou spiegeltent throughout August, gained rave reviews, performed on the Best of the Fest and the List UK’s Night at the Museum at the National Museum of Scotland. Wee Review **** stated we have ‘a magnificent, magical circus display with an incredible soundtrack and a look to die for’, and Broadway Baby **** that ‘This show infuses this powerful cultural imagery with music, energy and impressive, highly-charged physical performance’. Most recently we performed Tarot at Underbelly Festival Southbank in September. We are delighted to be returning to the Vaults where this show was born with a brand new reworked version of the show exploring the entire tarot deck and introducing the enchanting Ruby Wednesday as our compere and Tarot card reader to give the show a new and exciting vibe.

Santi & Naz are best friends living in a small village in pre-partition India. Their story spans between 1945 & 1949. When Naz is betrothed to an older man, the threat of separation for the young women looms large on the horizon. As the political situation around partition worsens and violence erupts, they take drastic action. Santi & Naz explores childhood friendship, identity and loyalty set against the backdrop of a country soon to be changed forever. New play by Guleraana Mir and Afshan D’souza-Lodhi, from award-winning company The Thelmas, makers of LADYKILLER & COCONUT.

Simon David is ready to perform his brand new, all-singing, all-dancing show, 'Date Night!' where one lucky spectator will win a date with the star live on stage!<br/>But then his father is diagnosed with terminal cancer. And just months before he dies, writes, performs and films his own one-man show about his illness, mortality and legacy.<br/>Far too juicy to ignore, does Simon follow in his father’s footsteps or continue with his camp cabaret?<br/>Directed by Fringe First winner Chris Larner, this true story about a father and son combines stand-up, film footage and original songs in a show about a show about a show.

Want to do something to fight the climate crisis but not sure where to start? Terrified of being branded a hypocrite, a public laughing stock or destroying your relationship with your family?<br/>From prosecution, to a political campaign, and a shot gun wedding this personal journey explores joining the fight against the climate crisis and all the things that go wrong when you take action without thinking. <br/>Funny, absurd and often painful, this personal narrative holds no answers but is an excellent place to start if you don’t want to make some terrible mistakes.<br/>‘Hypocrite’ - Jim Norton, Dailymail<br/>A work in progress, made with the help of friends and the assistance of the audience.<br/>Created by Waleed Akhtar & Zoe Lafferty
Lighting Design by Joseph Ed Thomas
Sound Design by Annie Fletcher
Produced by Creative Destruction

A tender, furious and fragile reimagining of Moby Dick from Fringe First winning writer and storyteller Casey Jay Andrews. A suburban fable of bad luck, reckless choices and irrational hope. THE WILD UNFEELING WORLD is a surreal and lyrical story about the times when we leap, where sometimes we soar, and sometimes we drown. <br/>The epic infamous whale is reinvented in London as a woman on the brink of self-destruction, caught in a chaotic quest for forgiveness. <br/>(Expect whale facts)<br/>By Casey Jay Andrews, creator of THE ARCHIVE OF EDUCATED HEARTS
Winner FRINGE FIRST Award Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2018
Winner BEST THEATRE Award Adelaide Fringe 2019<br/>Reviews for THE WILD UNFEELING WORLD:<br/>Recommended in THE GUARDIAN's top picks of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019
***** "Unique storytelling flair" Within Her Words
**** “Funny, and sad, and deeply human, this stands out for the elegance of it’s writing and the depth of its emotional journey" The Scotsman
**** "Deeply charming... intimacy and power" The Independent

Are you an overthinker? Then this might be the show for you.
Award-winning comedian Simon Caine's 5 star 4th solo show.<br/>"superb rhythm, combining well-crafted material with sharp improvisation" - Three Weeks<br/>“What you’re doing is great... the problem is nobody understands it.” – Iain Coyle (Dave TV Comedy Commissioner)<br/>“Really glad I got to see that. It was a really great set. You’re taking real and personal things and making them funny which isn’t easy to do. One of the two stand out sets of the night... and amazing crowd control” – Geoff Whiting (Mirth Control)<br/>“This is one of the few comedians to make me howl with laughter this year... ” – comedian Adam Bloom

A brand new stand-up comedy show from Tamar Broadbent (BBC Radio 4, Comedy Central, Boom Chicago). <br/>Tamar's had a truly international year. She's been working at improv theatre Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, where she has an American housemate, a Canadian boyfriend, and has been attempting to decipher Dutch people. <br/>Living in Europe in the wake of Brexit, running from the past and navigating nearly turning 30, Tamar has been on many new adventures, including revelatory non-drinking marathons and accidentally signing up with a very kind and ineffective personal trainer. Join her for this heartfelt and joyful comedy show that tackles some of life's biggest dilemmas: the Pomeranian versus the Great Dane? are we doomed to follow the patterns of our parents? and whose job is it to deal with the house ghost? <br/>***** EdFestMag. ***** Female Arts. ***** Broadway Baby. ***** West End Frame. ***** Forge. **** The Australia Times. **** Fest. **** The Stage. **** The Skinny. **** One4Review. **** LondonTheatre1.

Passion on the Night Tube is a solo play with music performed in English and Cantonese. It takes place in the early morning on the 24 hour Jubilee Line. Passion (Jimmy Wong) is a gay Chinese man who finds himself homeless and spending the weekend on the night tube. He tells the story of how he ended up in this situation. We see him not fitting in with his inherited culture and the gay scene. We meet, through his eyes, his family and others that have affected him. Passion will interact with the audience, but there is no audience participation (unless they want to). Warning there will be ukulele music!

James' grandad, Terry Downes, became world middleweight champion in 1961. By contrast, James' school PE teacher once told him he was so unfit he'd be dead by the time he was 23. This is a heart-warming, hilarious true story about fighting and family.<br/>“A heavyweight hour of stand-up and storytelling” **** The Guardian<br/>“A magnificent mix of stand-up, theatre and memoir which packs a powerful punch” ***** iTalkTelly<br/>“Compelling and poignant” **** The Scotsman

“To be free is very sweet”
When one woman tells of her extraordinary journey to overcome the brutality of slavery, she becomes a beacon for the British anti-slavery movement. Mary Prince was an auto-biographer and champion of freedom. Her book had an electrifying effect on the abolitionist movement helping to free many Africans in bondage.
Mary was born into enslavement on the British owned Island of Bermuda 1788? As with many enslaved people exact records of births and deaths can be difficult to come by and Mary's birth year is an estimation. She was the daughter of a House slave Sue and a Sawyer nothing unusual there but through Mary's narrative we are given rare insights into her life as an enslaved person. We learn of moments of love, conflict and some of the intricacies of chattel slavery that are seldom heard. When Mary's narrative was 1st published in 1831 it was the harsh realities the brutality of enslavement the treatment and dehumanisation of enslaved people that shocked readers. Also it was the fact of a woman speaking of flogging, of work that wasn't just back breaking but life taking. She shares with us her words and thoughts of how it felt to be enslaved, owned bought and sold. Mary's story gives us the voice of the 'chattel' those voices that are often silent, silenced, ignored or spoken for. Many who read her book could now picture enslaved people more fully as people with feelings, hopes and dreams. It also again highlighted Britain's role in enslavement. Often today many of us think of slavery as an American experience, hearing stories of the deep south, and forget that Britain played a major role. Mary's words help to remind us.
Told through theatre, song, drumming and dance, this masterpiece of Black British theatre is inspired by the storytelling traditions of the West African Griot/ Jeli.

One of British comedy's most exciting talents (although she's Danish), winner of the prestigious Edinburgh Best Newcomer Award, a cult podcaster, and now the author of the hugely successful book 'Happy Fat', Sofie Hagen lands at Vault Festival with a brand new show direct from the Edinburgh Fringe. A show about the things you forget, the things you remember, and the things you wish you could forget. But also, there's a bit about bums. <br/>An evening of brilliant stand-up from a fast-rising star. <br/>As seen and heard on BBC3, BBC1, RADIO 4, COMEDY CENTRAL, CHANNEL 4, TV2 ZULU<br/>***** Edinburgh Festival Magazine “Sofie Hagen is astounding, sparkling, and charming. The Bumswing is witty, cleverly paced and packs an emotional punch”
***** The Londonist “Marvellously paced and joyous”
**** The Telegraph “Superior hour of stand-up that shifts constantly and satisfyingly beneath your feet”
**** Broadway Baby “An hour of slick observational comedy”
**** The List “Comedically she’s flying high... beautifully created narrative”
**** Broadway World “A sweet comedy show with a lot of laughs”
**** one4review “Great show from a great comedian”

After a fatal stabbing, a promising young boxer is left for dead. As he lays unconscious he's transported to 18th century London where he receives lessons in not only Bare Knuckle boxing but what it really means to have courage. <br/>Black Terror takes you on a historical journey through Georgian England as boxing superstar Bill Richmond breathes life into a troubled young present day boxer. <br/>This is a work in progress written by Award Nominated Actor/Writer Kalungi Ssebandeke(ASSATA TAUGHT ME).

Ali is exhausted. Unable to detach reality from her own imagination she spins a tale that tests the limits of her identity and our own understanding. But does she know more than she’s letting on?
Seeing the world solely from her perspective we untangle a web that she herself seems scared to touch.
From the young voice of Sophia Capasso comes a gut punch that will leave audiences questioning the meaning of sanity. What do you do when you can no longer trust yourself and the system just isn't there to support you?

So what do you do when you’ve made the brilliant decision NOT to have children and then, at age 35, you find yourself pregnant? Answers on a postcard, please. <br/>A mischievous look at the existential crisis of motherhood. Award-winning Popelei return to the stage to take you on an exhilarating journey through the guilt and the glory of one woman going her own way. <br/>Featuring blisteringly honest confessions, vibrant dance theatre and one extremely knocked up performer.

Award-winning international company HUNCHtheatre bring you an urgent modern adaption of Joseph Roth’s neglected 1939 European masterpiece. Andreas, a homeless immigrant alcoholic, is miraculously given a large amount of cash by a stranger. We follow him as he tastes luxury, drinks everything, confronts his dark past and tries to avoid more miracles. Using a team of refugee artists from across Europe, and incorporating their personal experiences, HUNCHtheatre update the text from a Europe on the brink of disaster in 1939 to London in 2020 . It is a tale for our times, a tale of homelessness, addiction, immigration and miracles in our city.

Soph and her best friend Jel love scary stories. They hunt for the best ones on creepypasta sites, hunting the darkest online corners. But then strange and beautiful new girl Ellie turns up at school with a horror story of her own; a mysterious figure in the woods, the shadow of an axe. And when a girl in a nearby town goes missing, it seems their online monster’s come to life. <br/>Something Awful is a new play from Vault Award winning and Off West End Award nominated team Tatty Hennessy and Lucy Jane Atkinson, inspired by the real true crime story of the Slenderman. It’s a play about what we should be scared of, and where the real monsters live.

It started with a 'H'....
Thanyia Moore was born to two working class Jamaican born parents. What happened from there, is what she'll be discussing. From being bullied to being a bully, Thanyia explores what that means and how she's overcome all of the obstacles that may or may not have got in the way

Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated comedian and star of Mock The Week Olga Koch comes back with her third hour! This year she tackles her identity as an immigrant, a drama queen and the biggest Vampire Weekend fan the world has ever seen.

If you don’t laugh you’ll cry. Comedian David Ferguson has found that to be the case, more than most. In a stand-up show about self-acceptance and the things in life that get in the way of that.

“Why can’t you just be yourself: an actual person, not a look. Not an image”<br/>Carl is 21, skinny, afraid to come out and hates his body. <br/>Cameron is 30, has the classic Instagram body but can’t connect with the real world. <br/>Phil is fat and 40, which in gay years feels like life is already over.<br/>Toned, fat or skinny? Bodies can be a big part of a gay man’s world. But for Carl, Cameron and Phil having the ideal one matters a little too much. <br/>Following the critically acclaimed 'Open' in 2019, Full Disclosure Theatre return to VAULT Festival with a touching three-hander that tackles the timely LGBTQ+ issue of male body image, and asks if our desire to look perfect cuts more than skin-deep. <br/>Sometimes to bare all, means taking off more than just your clothes. Join us for a whole new reveal on a gay’s anatomy.<br/>The cast includes Dominic Jones as Carl, Mark Philip Compton as Phil, and Taofique Folarin as Cameron, best known for starring in TV & Web Series 'The Grass is Always Grindr'.

It’s cold. It’s January. People die. And so has Sarah M Anson. You are cordially invited to attend a memorial service in her honour, led by the Reverend Ro Hooley. <br/>Do you like Christian Rock bands? No? Well, try not to snigger, please, out of respect for the dead. Everyone’s going to be there. Lots of people will come even though they didn’t really like Sarah, but because they love a finger buffet. <br/>Like a dove, or like a very ugly street pigeon, she has flown this world... Please bring your own alcohol.

A THRILLING DOUBLE BILL OF COMEDY & STORYTELLING AS WE
PRESENT:<br/>TOM BELL : A WELCOME RETURN TO FORM
& JAMES ROWLAND : EAT MY TEARS<br/>James Rowland : Eat My Tears
There once was a lonely bear who wished he could be a train driver in the 80s (he had seen an advert one time when raiding bins in a nearby town.)
The villagers all quite liked the bear so they got together to make his dream come true but he was ill equipped for the job and the train crashed killing a lot of people and one bear (a different bear.)<br/>This, however, is not his tale.<br/>From the mind behind multiple Vault Festival Award winning shows and that really nice 5 star review in The Stage that time comes a new piece of story telling theatre so good, you'd swear it was Kitson!<br/>“Blistering” The Suffolk Medical Journal<br/>Tom Bell : A Welcome Return To Form.<br/>The last time Tom Bell wrote a stand up comedy show he was unable to stand up, luckily the comedy was excellent. This time he is perfectly able to stand; hopefully the jokes will be as good as his new found core strength. They should be. He's been writing them for ages.<br/>Stand up and character comedy intertwine the hugely anticipated new live show from the star of BBC's "The Mash Report", HBO's "Project Greenlight" and those two Star Wars movies where he's an alien.<br/>A tale of getting back on your feet from the master of upbeat surreal comedy.<br/>"Surreal comedy at its best" (Guardian)
"Sublime peaks and godawful troughs" (Scotsman)
"A wonderful guest! Hope he visits again." (AirBnB)

Satire. Politics. Sex. <br/>'The Murder of Kuchuk Hanem' explores the idea of the 'Oriental' woman: who she was. is and would like to be; how she has come to be seen and how she sees herself. It is a an exploration of a long taken-for-granted narrative that, through this unconventional farce of a play, we hope to finally challenge.

There will be no refunds. Jokes, funny stories masquerading as jokes, some crowd work and probably (definitely) some singing. As seen on 8 out of 10 cats (Channel 4), Can you beat the bookies? (BBC One), Soccer AM (Sky), Live at the Comedy Store (Comedy Central), Strictly Come Dancing (one day). Jack Whitehall's tour support and Diane Griffith’s son. There will be no refunds.

Our internet searches reveal more about us than we like to admit. We search our fears, our crushes and our flu symptoms (self-diagnosis: plague) but can you decipher a character just from what they Google?<br/> From BBC Three and BBC Radio 4Extra comes Eleanor Colville’s latest hour of character comedy. A funny but true story about growing up in the world of big scary data. <br/>‘If Fleabag did computing... The cleverest concept for a one woman show I’ve seen’ (OutcastStudios.co.uk).

Winners: People's Choice Award Vault Festival<br/>As heard on BBC Radio 1. A ball-busting compere takes four improvisers to their physical and mental extremes in a series of games designed to test their wits and bodies. You get to decide who's worthy and win the ultimate prize: your respect.<br/>It's a high-octane mix of impossible challenges and incredible feats of daring. The teams contort their bodies, fight invisible giants and create jokes on the spot all climaxing with a terrifying audience vote. No two shows are the same! Expect big laughs, big cheers and good times.<br/>“In a league of their own” **** Fringe Review
What to do: Evening Standard Magazine<br/>StageWon Editor’s Award<br/>Independent on Sunday Top 10 Comedy Acts in the UK

Red Fox Theatre are excited to bring our award nominated show, "Catch of the Day." back to London this January.
?
Ireland, 1966. Joe Welch, a skipper, sails into Dingle Bay with a very unusual catch...what follows is a ridiculous series of events, involving Eamon De Valera, Queen Elizabeth and whole lot of nuns.
?
One fish can make a big splash.
?
A true story, Catch of The Day is a raucous and little-bit-political play with a lot of heart, a lot of laughs and live trad-inspired music, all set in a Dingle pub.
?
Fresh from its award nominated run at Edinburgh Fringe and sell out shows in London and Oxford, Catch of The Day returns to its birth place this summer for a 3 week run.

Lucy & Freya are developing new material!<br/>Lucy presents Tenderhooks. <br/>Freya is bad at lots of things. This is a list of the things she is bad at.

Shh! If you’re reading this, then you’ve been invited to Ladylikes Top Secret House Party! With all their friends getting engaged, promoted, pregnant and the odd OBE award, Miztli and Phoebe (AKA LADYLIKES) felt it was time to celebrate the chaotic joy of being lost in your twenties. <br/>Join them for a party like no other, as they delve into the world of hen-do nightmares, office party creeps, and misguided kids' entertainers in a fabulous (and sometimes terrifying) exploration of what it means to be a modern-day party girl. So dust off your glad rags and gear up for an hour of sketch comedy featuring wacky characters, outlandish scenarios and a good dose of musical comedy from your BFFs-to-be!

Invisible Museum is a female led melancholic surreal comedy, about the life (and thoughts) of Yolanda, a Latin American immigrant, who works as gallery invigilator in a famous museum. Her job is to sit at the corner of the obscure “Emergent Artist’s Room” watching over the visitors to make sure they wouldn’t touch the art pieces. That’s ALL what she’s in charge of. She’s not allowed to interact with anyone or patrol around the rooms. She has to be still. Nevertheless, Yolanda’s mind is free to fly. And so, it will. Lost in her thoughts Yolanda mixes reality and fantasy, bringing to the audience her most secret desires. In the real world, she interacts with Laurelle and Wanda K. The first one the museum’s new curator recently nominated the youngest most successful Art Curator in UK, a true rising star. The second, a conceptual artist from East London, author of the art piece Yolanda looks after. An unknown emergency locks the three of them inside the room, forcing them to endure a very long time together. Reality merges with Yolanda’s dreams and desires (among them her burlesque fantasies) and we enter into a journey throughout her mind. Choreographies pop up as possibilities for relationships, spoken word suddenly seems to be the only way of communication and an increase surreal environment reveals layers of humanity. Invisible Museum is an all-female cast playing a melancholic and funny tale of self-exposure. An allegoric parade revealing the invisibility of lowers social classes, the clash of hierarchies and how pathetic humans and art can be, when truly undressed.

Two transgender performers say 'up yours!' to the gender binary and invite you to their radical dance party! Under disco lights, over pulsing music, a queer celebration takes place. Set in nightclubs, Sound Cistem is an exuberant verbatim show about the cisgender gaze on the transgender body. Featuring recorded interviews from trans and non-binary people, a self-love manifesto is made through riotous, glittering disco. This duo keep moving to reject conformity and shame, despite the current transgender debate. See the beauty in these bodies, and your own.