The FringeGuru guide to the VAULT Festival on on Saturday 7 March

A comedy spoken word show about gender, the media and not fitting any of the boxes, full of explosive movement, original songs and kickass video projection. Edalia Day is a banjo wielding, poetry slam winning, trans warrior, taking on the world one troll at a time. <br/>Too Pretty To Punch is a hilarious and uplifting journey through what it means to be trans in 21st century Britain. It reminds all of us (regardless of who we are) of the power of celebrating our existence.<br/>"Head-spinning, joyful, painful, funny - and I loved the tech. It's a blast from and to the heart." - Chris Thorpe<br/>Edalia is a transgender/non-binary spoken word artist, animator and theatre maker based in Norwich. Trained at Lecoq and Alra, their theatre is visually stunning, with physical comedy and a child like sense of play at the heart of everything they make.<br/>?Writer/Performer/Animator: Edalia Day
Composer: Billie Bottle
Artists: B Mure & Jack Kelly
Set Design: Leo Calder
Stage manager: David Calder
Poster Design: David Cousens<br/>The finale includes poetry, video and audio contributions from 15 transgender and/or nonbinary poets from all over the world:<br/>Lee Mokobe, Ashe Vernon, Cairo Nevitt, Ash Palmisciano Robbie Masters, Adriana Scott Newsum, Leo George, George Cook, Millie Quick, Sez Thomasin, Jay Hulme, Carey Wood-Duffy, Kit Rayne, Kay Kassirer.

"I have a confession to make. Well several, actually. There's been a little bit of a list developing and it's all been getting a bit overwhelming if I'm honest."<br/>The girl has come to Church to have a frank conversation with God. Once little girl in a first communion dress cossetted by family in Catholic Ireland, she dreamt of the next time she would wear a white dress to Mass. But then she grew up. And as her music taste evolves, so does her relationship with God (if there is one), love (but sure what does that even mean?), and sex (but shhh don’t tell her Granny). Sexuality suddenly threatens her relationships with her faith, her family and the future she has always imagined for herself. Sacrament is a play which examines how a new generation of Irish young people relate to their country's religious heritage and whether it is possible to reconcile religion with an empowered sense of sexuality.

A Romcom Thriller. She’ll do anything for love, but is he worth it... ?<br/>Forget Hinge, Anna met her new boyfriend IRL - how romantic! Unfortunately, following an accident, he’s now lying unconscious in hospital.<br/>She relays the romantic story of how they first met (at a bereavement support group), how they grew close (shared eye rolls behind, Celia, the group leader’s back) and their first date (an evening straight out of a romcom, rain and everything). It’s the beginning of a perfect love story... until disaster strikes. Whilst he lies in a coma she’s discovers something at his flat that throws up some unnerving questions. As the fantasy starts to unravel will Anna be able to face up to the truth?<br/>Written and performed by Harrie Hayes.
Directed and script edited by Katharine Armitage.

Two different stories tied together by one commonality, their Vietnamese mothers. Lòng M?, which translates into Mother’s Soul/Heart/Love takes you on two very personal journeys; a son coming to terms with the lengths his mother takes to provide for him, even if it means a brush with the law, and a daughter seeing her mother in a new light through her own impending motherhood. This is a tender love letter to all mothers whose love, sacrifice, wit, and steel are what makes us who we are, whether we like it or not.

Society puts a lot of pressure on Fat Girl. All she wants to do is be with her soulmate Pizza. Instead, her mother signs her up for the reality show The Only Way Is Pretty. What will happen to Pizza when Fat Girl meets Hot Boy?
Big by Urvashi Bohra is a personal ode to pizzas and body positivity.

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!

Why is the ‘free world’ obsessed with walls ?<br/>A unique fusion of poetry, satire, reportage, multimedia and traveller’s diary, Closed Lands traces the history of modern walls - real and metaphorical - from Berlin to Mexico to Europe. <br/>Beginning in 1989 with the euphoria for the fall of the wall - "the end of shame", as it was described - it moves in space and time to Mexico, the Sahara desert, and the wall of water surrounding "Fortress Europe", ending with the wall of bureaucracy faced by asylum seekers.<br/>LegalAliens' powerful and evocative production features the cast rotating through the roles of migrant, politician, citizen, CEO and a VIP bot, all part of a perverse and random mechanism. A live camera projects part of the action on screen, as our lives become increasingly part of a gigantic video game in which even the most dramatic situations - boats crossing the Med, border control techniques, the selling of weapons - can be sold to the public as glamorous products. <br/>Based on factual research and testimonies, and performed by actors who are all migrants in the UK, Closed Lands chronicles the "Free world's" obsession with walls and our journey back to shame. <br/>This is the English premiere of Closed Lands (Terres Closes), by award-winning playwright Simon Grangeat and performed by an all female international cast. <br/>Presented in co-production with Exchange Theatre and part of "Migrations Harbour Europe", an ACE funded project to promote plays from across the continent focusing on migrant voices and experiences in a non cliched and theatrically original manner.

The poetry of Roger McGough explodes from the page to the stage in this fantastical circus and puppetry adventure where pigs fly and the sky is in the pie. Join a day-dreaming boy for one amazing day where he discovers the extra-ordinary in the ordinary wherever he goes.
The Feathers of Daedalus Circus have teamed up with celebrated author and poet Roger McGough for this new wonderfully wacky children’s production inspiring young and old to fall in love with poetry. With circus, physical theatre, puppetry and projection, the Feathers explore fun and fantastical ways to play with poetry, dipping into works from Roger’s 50 year career topped up with new poems especially created for the show. 
A day so ordinary. Or one quite extraordinary? For what day is ever ordinary in the eyes of a daydreamer? Setting off for his first day at school he discovers a plague around in the playground. He meets the girl who became a book, and the boy who was born to bugle. He finds a domesticated donkey, a sound collector and a blue macaw in a drawer. At home he eagerly awaits a well deserved dinner, but there is a sky in the pie. Mother’s done it again! He lies down to sleep, rests his head on his catapillow, dreams of a school for ghouls, a rolling meatball, spelling bees and everything in between.
The Feathers of Daedalus Circus are known for ambitious multi-disciplinary circus productions having created shows with amazing circus mixed with spoken word, live music, collage, film and projections. We are always looking for new collaborators so we are very excited to be using puppetry alongside circus and poetry to lead you through our fantastical adventure. You will be intrigued, amused and amazed by the Sky in the Pie and through it we hope you will learn or re-learn a love of poetry.

Eddy Hare (New Comedian of the Year Finalist 2019) and Elly Shaw (Quantum Leopard Competition Winner) are doing a split bill stand up show and baby, this is that show. Strap yourself in and get ready for one of them to do 30 minutes, followed by the other doing 30 minutes straight after.<br/>Finalist - New Comedian of the Year 2019
Winner - Quantum Leopard Competition October 2019
Finalist - Yellow Comedy Young Comedian of the Year 2019
Semi-Finalist - Get Up Stand Up Competition 2019
As seen on BBC3<br/>Previous work:
“Very clever, very wry, very well performed” Beyond the Joke

What makes a strong woman? Mother, maid and crone are trying to find the answer. They knew this once... It’s on the tip of their tongues... Maybe the stories we once told each other will hold the key... <br/>Heroine is a storytelling show seeking to answer the important questions: <br/>How to find love when you’re a skeleton who lives under the sea.
Why it’s important to keep secrets when you’ve accidentally married a hyena.
How to fight giants and gain financial security.
How to literally become the sun.
Oh. And what even is a Heroine anyway? <br/>With stories from all across the world, including Nigeria, Mexico and the Arctic - join us for an evening celebrating our forgotten fairytale heroines.

One woman. One bicycle. One hell of a story.<br/>It’s 1895 and 24 year old Annie Londonderry has returned victorious to America, hailed as the first woman ever to cycle around the world.<br/>She’s pioneering, she’s plucky, and she's pitching her story to the New York World. But as she shares her adventures, the cracks begin to show, and she's forced to confront a past she'd rather leave unexplored. <br/>RIDE is the incredible true story of a young woman with big plans, and an even bigger imagination, from the award-winning team behind VAULT sell-out THE LIMIT (***** FringeGuru).

Glitch is a monologue about autism, grief, small towns and video games. <br/>Kelly’s autistic, never left her hometown because of it, and now she’s facing her Dad’s declining health. She’s frustrated, stuck, and looking for a way out - although she doesn’t realise it until it potentially arrives, in the form of a video game speedrunning contest offering both a cash prize and (friendly) rivals who might become friends.<br/>Kelly might be trying to save her Dad like the heroes in her favourite games, but she comes to realise she can’t control everything: change is going to happen, whether she (or her brain) likes it or not.<br/>As Kelly navigates her grief, paired with her new experiences and the often-judgemental viewpoints of her hometown’s locals, she comes to understand what her Dad has been trying to tell her all along. Other people have been writing Kelly’s story for too long, based on assumptions about her labels rather than her as a person. Maybe it's time for that to change.<br/>Glitch is about the stories we tell about those seen as different, the impact that has on the people being spoken about, and asks the question: surely it's past time we let everybody create their own stories?

Where is our place? What happens when we
have nothing left to hold on to? Do we
remain? 'Living Here?' is Ayenai’s first work
as a collective and is deeply rooted on the
personal experience of living in a foreign
country. We are trying to answer questions
such as what does it take to make yourself
at home in a hostile environment that is
constantly shifting?
Conquering our own personalities and the
space that holds us, is an ongoing journey
where often, obstacles become a support
and most importantly, the motor that keeps
us going.
Our travel companions are two highly
renowned Gypsy Jazz musicians, Andrea
Todesco (Guitar) and Peter Thomas (Double
Bass). They are both currently performing all
around Europe with the most influencial
players in the gipsy jazz scene.

It’s empty. All of it. The whole building. The Foxtons lady didn’t mention that, did she?
146 fully furnished flats and all of them completely empty. Except for... <br/>Jay has just bought his first home: a luxury apartment in the newly refurbished 60s Brutalist masterpiece, Balfron Tower.<br/>But he soon discovers he’s literally the only person in the entire building. All the other flats are empty, bought up by wealthy Russian oligarchs and Beijing businessmen.<br/>He is completely alone.<br/>Until he discovers he isn’t.<br/>Someone – or something – still haunts the corridors of Balfron Tower.
__________<br/>Ghost House is a 21st century ghost story set against the skyline of modern London and the contemporary housing crisis.<br/>High Rise meets The Woman In Black in this chilling tale of urban loneliness, isolation and fear.

No-one who enters the labyrinth ever returns.<br/>Theseus searches deep underground for the terrible Minotaur. Ariadne must decide where her loyalties lie. Daedalus and Icarus are trapped, desperate to escape. As the story unravels, revealing the choices each make, do we control our destinies or are they entirely in the hands of the three Fates?<br/>Follow the thread and join the cast of Airealism deep in the labyrinth as the Fates weave their tale inspired by Greek myths using aerial circus & physical theatre.

A stage adaptation of the short story “A Report to An Academy” by Franz Kafka.
An African ape has been captured in the jungles of West Africa and brought back to ‘civilisation’ by his European captors. To escape a life of incarceration, he ‘evolves’ into a human being. Red Peter mimics human habits from the crew of the ship upon which he is imprisoned, masters human speech and eventually decides to embrace human society rather than languish in a zoo as an ape. He even performs as a human on the vaudeville stage.

A comedy spoken word show about gender, the media and not fitting any of the boxes, full of explosive movement, original songs and kickass video projection. Edalia Day is a banjo wielding, poetry slam winning, trans warrior, taking on the world one troll at a time. <br/>Too Pretty To Punch is a hilarious and uplifting journey through what it means to be trans in 21st century Britain. It reminds all of us (regardless of who we are) of the power of celebrating our existence.<br/>"Head-spinning, joyful, painful, funny - and I loved the tech. It's a blast from and to the heart." - Chris Thorpe<br/>Edalia is a transgender/non-binary spoken word artist, animator and theatre maker based in Norwich. Trained at Lecoq and Alra, their theatre is visually stunning, with physical comedy and a child like sense of play at the heart of everything they make.<br/>?Writer/Performer/Animator: Edalia Day
Composer: Billie Bottle
Artists: B Mure & Jack Kelly
Set Design: Leo Calder
Stage manager: David Calder
Poster Design: David Cousens<br/>The finale includes poetry, video and audio contributions from 15 transgender and/or nonbinary poets from all over the world:<br/>Lee Mokobe, Ashe Vernon, Cairo Nevitt, Ash Palmisciano Robbie Masters, Adriana Scott Newsum, Leo George, George Cook, Millie Quick, Sez Thomasin, Jay Hulme, Carey Wood-Duffy, Kit Rayne, Kay Kassirer.

After sell-out runs in Edinburgh, London, Bristol and Hong Kong, Spies Like Us bring their explosive physical style to Vault Festival for the first time with a work in progress.<br/>When a Professor answers an apparently random phone call that seems eerily pertinent to their own life, decade-long feuds are uncovered and old wounds are prised open. In a race against the clock to save their family and their job, the Professor hares across the quad from the library, to the lecture hall to the gymnasium attempting to uncover whodunnit and why. Multi-award winners Spies Like Us present an action-packed physical thriller about connection, forgiveness and inter-faculty rivalry on the grand old grounds of a 1970s university campus. <br/>Praise for previous work:
***** - Voice Magazine
***** - British Theatre Guide
***** - Theatre Weekly
***** - EdFringe Review
***** Everything Theatre
**** - The List
**** - Broadway Baby
**** - Edinburgh Festivals Magazine
**** - UK Theatre Web
**** - ScotsGay
**** - Fringe Biscuit
?
“Physical theatre at its high-octane best” - Edinburgh Festivals Magazine (For ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’).
“Quite simply, a joy" - Broadway Baby? (For ‘Our Man in Havana’).
“One of the most impressive hours of the fringe” - The List (For ‘Woyzeck’).
“A truly astounding work of theatre” - Voice Magazine (For ‘Woyzeck’).

Two different stories tied together by one commonality, their Vietnamese mothers. Lòng M?, which translates into Mother’s Soul/Heart/Love takes you on two very personal journeys; a son coming to terms with the lengths his mother takes to provide for him, even if it means a brush with the law, and a daughter seeing her mother in a new light through her own impending motherhood. This is a tender love letter to all mothers whose love, sacrifice, wit, and steel are what makes us who we are, whether we like it or not.

The poetry of Roger McGough explodes from the page to the stage in this fantastical circus and puppetry adventure where pigs fly and the sky is in the pie. Join a day-dreaming boy for one amazing day where he discovers the extra-ordinary in the ordinary wherever he goes.
The Feathers of Daedalus Circus have teamed up with celebrated author and poet Roger McGough for this new wonderfully wacky children’s production inspiring young and old to fall in love with poetry. With circus, physical theatre, puppetry and projection, the Feathers explore fun and fantastical ways to play with poetry, dipping into works from Roger’s 50 year career topped up with new poems especially created for the show. 
A day so ordinary. Or one quite extraordinary? For what day is ever ordinary in the eyes of a daydreamer? Setting off for his first day at school he discovers a plague around in the playground. He meets the girl who became a book, and the boy who was born to bugle. He finds a domesticated donkey, a sound collector and a blue macaw in a drawer. At home he eagerly awaits a well deserved dinner, but there is a sky in the pie. Mother’s done it again! He lies down to sleep, rests his head on his catapillow, dreams of a school for ghouls, a rolling meatball, spelling bees and everything in between.
The Feathers of Daedalus Circus are known for ambitious multi-disciplinary circus productions having created shows with amazing circus mixed with spoken word, live music, collage, film and projections. We are always looking for new collaborators so we are very excited to be using puppetry alongside circus and poetry to lead you through our fantastical adventure. You will be intrigued, amused and amazed by the Sky in the Pie and through it we hope you will learn or re-learn a love of poetry.

Why is the ‘free world’ obsessed with walls ?<br/>A unique fusion of poetry, satire, reportage, multimedia and traveller’s diary, Closed Lands traces the history of modern walls - real and metaphorical - from Berlin to Mexico to Europe. <br/>Beginning in 1989 with the euphoria for the fall of the wall - "the end of shame", as it was described - it moves in space and time to Mexico, the Sahara desert, and the wall of water surrounding "Fortress Europe", ending with the wall of bureaucracy faced by asylum seekers.<br/>LegalAliens' powerful and evocative production features the cast rotating through the roles of migrant, politician, citizen, CEO and a VIP bot, all part of a perverse and random mechanism. A live camera projects part of the action on screen, as our lives become increasingly part of a gigantic video game in which even the most dramatic situations - boats crossing the Med, border control techniques, the selling of weapons - can be sold to the public as glamorous products. <br/>Based on factual research and testimonies, and performed by actors who are all migrants in the UK, Closed Lands chronicles the "Free world's" obsession with walls and our journey back to shame. <br/>This is the English premiere of Closed Lands (Terres Closes), by award-winning playwright Simon Grangeat and performed by an all female international cast. <br/>Presented in co-production with Exchange Theatre and part of "Migrations Harbour Europe", an ACE funded project to promote plays from across the continent focusing on migrant voices and experiences in a non cliched and theatrically original manner.

Society puts a lot of pressure on Fat Girl. All she wants to do is be with her soulmate Pizza. Instead, her mother signs her up for the reality show The Only Way Is Pretty. What will happen to Pizza when Fat Girl meets Hot Boy?
Big by Urvashi Bohra is a personal ode to pizzas and body positivity.

"Dad's getting married again. A second wife. As in, in addition to his first. <br/>(We were shocked too)."<br/>This is a gripping story about two sisters in the run up to their dad's marriage, as they rehearse the traditional Nigerian dance he's asked them to perform, all the while navigating the complexities that come with lies, love and bigamy. <br/>It explores what happens when religion and culture collide, under the spotlight of a family in crisis, and the things people do to try and survive.<br/>This thought-provoking play was developed as part of the VAULT Festival New Writers’ Programme 2019, led by Camilla Whitehill, and showcased during VAULT Festival 2019 in a sold-out show.<br/>She Is A Place Called Home is partnering with Solace Women's Aid, an innovative and grass roots charity that supports women and children who have experienced domestic and sexual violence to build safe and strong lives. After each performance, we will be holding a collection of donations and toiletries on Solace's behalf. Any contributions will be very appreciated.

in her first one hour show, brutally honest and quick-witted rising irish comedian Mairead Doyle regails stories from her years jobbing in the painfully corporate world of part-time temping. Her hilarious take on the people and places she has experienced on each temporary work contract will give giggles and gobsmacks as she spills the office tea all over the audiences funny bones.

“I regret that you have been in bed, though not with me”<br/>Through carefully crafted letters that are awaited with anticipation, Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf begin an exquisite romance. Filled with sharp intelligence, wit and elegance, both iconic women’s letters conquer each other’s hearts through carefully chosen words inked onto a page - luckily, their husbands don’t mind. <br/>“You’re the first person I’ve seen on this app which isn’t posing with a dog, a baby, or in your bra.”<br/>In the overwhelmingly tangled world of dating apps Mia and Lottie meet online. Flirting through the beam of a phone screen, they navigate many challenges, including kiss politics - two x’s or three? When an emoji can change not just the tone of the conversation but the entire meaning of what you write, reading between the lines takes on a whole new meaning. <br/>Brought to you by Sprezzatura Productions, V&V charts two narratives: the iconic love story of literary treasure Virginia Woolf and esteemed socialite Vita Sackville-West; and a far newer story of Lottie from Tunbridge Wells and love cynic Mia. Shortlisted for the Charlie Hartill Theatre Reserve 2019, V&V makes its debut at VAULT festival 2020.

What happens when you try to run 26 miles in the most secretive nation on earth? What happens when you run out of flapjacks the night before the big race? What happens when you hit the wall in front of 50000 people? In April 2018 I finished third in the North Korean Marathon. This is the story of how. It's about running, North Korea, and BBQ clams.

Welcome to an ocean full of plastic, giant squid, and opportunity.
Simon & Trixie work in a submersible mining station at the bottom of the sea. Their relationship is falling to pieces, but they can deal with that later. They just don’t want to be left behind in the climate crisis.
Every day, they dig up rare earth minerals which the planet needs for green batteries, electric cars, and new mobile phones. No one said going green would be easy.
It’s business as usual until they meet Archie – a giant squid. The loveable cephalopod has a lot to say about the big holes Simon and Trixie keep making in his home.
Kraken is a classic (and the only) underwater climate crisis capitalist-cephalopod romance. It’s a story about monsters, and what (or who) we’re prepared to throw away. It’s about going green but hurting the world around you. It’s about keeping up with catastrophe. It’s about wanting to love your planet, but not knowing how.
First and foremost, this is a play about what happens when a giant squid just might be your best friend. Or life partner.

One woman. One bicycle. One hell of a story.<br/>It’s 1895 and 24 year old Annie Londonderry has returned victorious to America, hailed as the first woman ever to cycle around the world.<br/>She’s pioneering, she’s plucky, and she's pitching her story to the New York World. But as she shares her adventures, the cracks begin to show, and she's forced to confront a past she'd rather leave unexplored. <br/>RIDE is the incredible true story of a young woman with big plans, and an even bigger imagination, from the award-winning team behind VAULT sell-out THE LIMIT (***** FringeGuru).

"When I was 12 I told my father my favourite song was 'everything.' He replied "‘No! That’s too easy. You can't like everything, you need to be specific!" I was too embarrassed to tell him that 'Everything' was track 4 on the 1976 ‘A Star is Born’ Album."<br/>When Matt was young he idolised his father, but that didn't stop him leaving when he was 5 years old to start another family. At a loss for male role models, the precociously camp Matt turned to some alternate idols for support - Barbra, Shirley and Cher! Now as an adult, he's going to need those divas more than ever when he discovers that the half-brothers he's always sent Christmas presents to... have never been told he exists. Now, he needs to break the news to them that they've got an older brother, but can he reconcile his love of glitter and show tunes with his sport-loving, laddish new family?<br/>A fabulous comedy cabaret musical play from the creators of the cult hits Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho and Margaret Thatcher Queen of Game Shows about absent fathers, family secrets, brothers who've never met and Barbra Streisand. <br/>Written by Directed by Olivier Award-winner Jon Brittain (Rotterdam, A Super Happy Story About Feeling Super Sad, Baby Reindeer).

“Load in the world.” <br/>Player 1, Aiden, is sixteen, autistic, and loves video games. They can be repeated, mastered and controlled. But what happens if the game starts to glitch? In this interactive video game musical the audience take control and help Aiden navigate STAGES.<br/>Playable characters include: Ellie, Aiden’s sibling, who’s stuck deciding on which avatar to select. Owen, Aiden’s dad, who hovers over the restart button. Alice, Aiden’s mum, who faces her greatest challenge, the final boss.<br/>Featuring an original electronic 8-bit soundtrack and arcade style graphics, STAGES by Christian Czornyj examines what happens when the code of our lives is rewritten and the way the digital world interacts with our own. It is a bold new British musical that has to be played to be experienced.

"We were eighteen years old, and just learning to love the world and being in it, and then we had to shoot it to bits."<br/>Following an international tour, the multi-award nominated and award winning Incognito Theatre Company return to VAULT Festival with their critically celebrated adaptation of Erich Remarque’s tale, exposing the harrowing reality of trench warfare. <br/>Told through the eyes of five classmates, this adaptation is gripping and unyielding in its treatment of the visceral brutality of war, an honesty that lends itself to Incognito Theatre’s unapologetically explosive physical style. 'All Quiet on the Western Front' focuses on the harsh physical reality of this violent world from the perspective of the German forces, intercut with the vulnerability of human experience. An exploration of raw humanity and the power of brotherhood in the face of total bleakness, Incognito's 'All Quiet on the Western Front' exposes the personal sacrifices that were made for the sake of the Great War. <br/>Three Weeks ***** "Enthralling, moving and fundamentally, beautifully human."

This is a show about work.
But the worker isn’t here, so it’s down to you.<br/>You’ll clock in at the beginning.
You’ll get short breaks at regular intervals.
You’ll work in a team, and under your own initiative. <br/>You will be your own boss.
You will be free.<br/>work.txt is a show performed entirely by the audience. A show that explores the gig economy, financial instability and automation.<br/>14+
Supported by Arts Council England

Thump. James Corden hears a thump coming from underneath his chat-show desk. Thump. This is not a stand-up show. Thump. But it is performed by my stand-up comedy persona. Thump. I understand that's confusing. Thump. I hope you enjoy it. Thump. "full of unexpected twists and turns" 4**** - The Scotsman. Thump. "baffling and daring" 4**** - BroadwayBaby. Thump. "His real name is Luke Smith" - Chortle. Thump. Thump. Love. Thump. Thump. Sex. Thump. Thump. Death. Thump. Thump. The Desk.

Remember when the comedian was the weird loner who reflected the oddest parts of society back at the audience, rather than someone who wanted to present a baking show? Well Danielle Ward is reclaiming outsider status as someone estranged from the comedy industry. Part stand-up show, part tragic theatre. All business. <br/>Danielle Ward is the host of awarding podcast panel show Do The Right Thing and political comedy podcast Any Stupid Questions. A season writer for TV, radio and theatre, her last production at VAULTS was sell-out comitragedy THE HALF. "Ward's script is masterful" **** The Scotsman.

Character Comedians Graham Dickson and Freya Slipper present: 'Party' and 'Cooking with Lamb': Works in Progress

What makes a strong woman? Mother, maid and crone are trying to find the answer. They knew this once... It’s on the tip of their tongues... Maybe the stories we once told each other will hold the key... <br/>Heroine is a storytelling show seeking to answer the important questions: <br/>How to find love when you’re a skeleton who lives under the sea.
Why it’s important to keep secrets when you’ve accidentally married a hyena.
How to fight giants and gain financial security.
How to literally become the sun.
Oh. And what even is a Heroine anyway? <br/>With stories from all across the world, including Nigeria, Mexico and the Arctic - join us for an evening celebrating our forgotten fairytale heroines.

“People are fucking judgy though”.
A night-time glimpse into the sometimes tragic, often hilarious stories that we hope we’ve Hidden.
Michael aka “Rosie Bush” who can never let a good costume go, Pippa a hot yoga enthusiast who has just nailed “the fucking toe stand”, Morag armed with her BOGOF’s is eager for her deep clean weekend and Jade is on her way to experience the tattoo of a lifetime “every inch of skin a potential hit”.
These are just a few of the people whose paths cross when they stop to share their stories with us, Hidden invites you to pay closer attention and you might be surprised by what you recognise...
A new play from emerging theatre company Toil&Trouble. Through a diverse collection of women and one Drag Queen, Hidden gives voice to the fears, hopes, battles and triumphs they face daily.
Careful, if you spot it, maybe you’ve got it?

Steve is ?ne. No really, he’s grand. He’s a lad. He’s always been a lad — one of the lads. But the lads have changed and Steve feels like an endangered species. The last of his kind. With nobody to talk to.<br/>But there's one lad left. His lad. And his lad... talks back.<br/>Following a sold-out run in Dublin in 2019, the company behind If We Got Some More Cocaine I Could Show You How I Love You returns to VAULT Festival with this balls-to-the-wall new comedy. <br/>Thomas Martin (Collapsible; Flights; If We Got Some More Cocaine; Ross & Rachel) directs this cheeky two-hander by Rhys Dunlop and Alan Mahon.<br/>"One Duck Theatre’s fast-paced production is brimming with imaginative touches from director Thomas Martin... Both performances are excellent... this is a company and a production that deserves to be seen." - No More Workhorse (Ireland).<br/>Written and performed by Rhys Dunlop and Alan Mahon
Director Thomas Martin
Lighting Designer Cillian McNamara
Sound Designer Ekatarina Solomatina
Movement Consultant Bryan Burroughs
Set design the company
Set Builder Stephen Lockhart

It’s empty. All of it. The whole building. The Foxtons lady didn’t mention that, did she?
146 fully furnished flats and all of them completely empty. Except for... <br/>Jay has just bought his first home: a luxury apartment in the newly refurbished 60s Brutalist masterpiece, Balfron Tower.<br/>But he soon discovers he’s literally the only person in the entire building. All the other flats are empty, bought up by wealthy Russian oligarchs and Beijing businessmen.<br/>He is completely alone.<br/>Until he discovers he isn’t.<br/>Someone – or something – still haunts the corridors of Balfron Tower.
__________<br/>Ghost House is a 21st century ghost story set against the skyline of modern London and the contemporary housing crisis.<br/>High Rise meets The Woman In Black in this chilling tale of urban loneliness, isolation and fear.

Five-star sell-out show Edinburgh Fringe 2017-2019 and VAULT Festival 2017-2019.
Netflix combines the taste profiles of 98 million users to create a perfectly ideal viewing experience...
Notflix combines the taste profiles of a room full of theatre go-ers to create a brilliantly hilarious and completely improvised viewing experience – a full musical.
The all-female cast of ‘Notflix’ use audience suggestions to create a brand new, fully improvised, one-night-only musical. Every show is different but what remains is the same joyous, musical celebration of everything you wish a movie could be.
Because everything is better as a musical!
Featured in Sunday Times, Marie Claire and Elle Magazines. Funny Women and Musical Comedy Awards nominees.
***** “Notflix might very well be the best show you see this year, and the year after, and hopefully forever” Broadway Baby
**** “Professional, fun and effortlessly funny” The Observer
**** “Surprising, spontaneous and delightful” Fringe Biscuit

With church attendance dropping below a million for the first time in the UK, how will the youth respond? Following the trials and tribulations of a Christian Union at a university, we see the most unlikely of young people as they negotiate the boundaries set by their faith and the social pressures mounting upon them to fit in. <br/>Written by Writer's Guild Award nominee 2018. Praise for previous work: "The full package" **** (The Guardian).

No-one who enters the labyrinth ever returns.<br/>Theseus searches deep underground for the terrible Minotaur. Ariadne must decide where her loyalties lie. Daedalus and Icarus are trapped, desperate to escape. As the story unravels, revealing the choices each make, do we control our destinies or are they entirely in the hands of the three Fates?<br/>Follow the thread and join the cast of Airealism deep in the labyrinth as the Fates weave their tale inspired by Greek myths using aerial circus & physical theatre.

Patrick Spicer (Nominee - Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year 2018, Finalist - Amused Moose New Comic - 2019, Writer/Star - BBC3) is a self-destructive drinker, anxiety ridden hypochondriac, and childhood drug-taker, who lost his virginity just in time for it to still be humiliating. <br/>Sex, drugs, alcohol, disease, and bloke-ing out. Frowning at a laptop in November 2019, Patrick thinks by February he will have the makings of the makings of a show about that. Come along and see the childish optimism of the past meet the reckoning brutality of the future, in the form of silly jokes from a sensitive idiot. <br/>Following on from Patrick's sell out shows at last year's VAULT and Edinburgh festivals, this work-in-progress hour will preview new ideas and routines in the development of his much anticipated Edinburgh 2020 debut hour. Much of this new material will be coherent, punchy, and more than justify the price of admission, and the remainder will balance things out to an absolutely reasonable fee.

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