Here is all of our content from the Vault Festival 2023!
VAULT FEST REVIEWS (A-Z)
‘A refreshing take on raising awareness of the current crisis.’ – Read the full review here
‘Sookdeo directs with focus and pace, using the cavernous space to his advantage.’ – Read the full review here
‘I’d encourage anyone to see it.’ – Read the full review here
‘The topics the show raises are of the utmost importance’ – Read the full review here
‘Stidston’s script is filled with sarcasm and dryly humorous lines’ – Read the full review here
‘A gorgeous show, sexy, camp, and wonderfully flirty’ – Read the full review here
‘It’s startling to find that O’Reilly did not write the piece himself he so inhabits the soul of the character’ – Read the full review here
‘The story is an important one to tell’ – Read the full review here
‘Holland and Lawton deliver the message with grungy, unruly abandon, an after-hours larcenous energy.’ – Read the full review here
‘Moving and at times really uncomfortable.’ – Read the full review here
‘A perfect mixture of profound and hilarious’ – Read the full review here
‘Both characters are sure and interesting.’ – Read the full review here
CRIMINALLY UNTRUE: THE IMPROVISED TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY
‘This is a show I could binge-watch!’ – Read the full review here
DEFINITELY ACTUALLY MAYBE NEVERMIND
‘A whole lot of fun, and a whole new level of unhinged.’ – Read the full review here
‘Absorbing from start to finish’ – Read the full review here
‘As a playwriting debut, it is brimming with potential’ – Read the full review here
‘One of the most unique, exciting, and fully realised shows I’ve seen at the Vaults this year.’ – Read the full review here
‘Important topics are brought up without the time for full exploration, leaving them hanging in the air’ – Read the full review here
‘It is an absolute pleasure to have shared in the experience’ – Read the full review here
‘Sensitive, and thoughtful’ – Read the full review here
‘The show’s concept is strong and has potential, plus Akubeze’s performance is one you’ll remember.’ – Read the full review here
FOR A BRIEF MOMENT AND NEVER AGAIN SINCE
‘Amato’s script is certainly fiery and ferocious’ – Read the full review here
FRUITS, OR THE DECLINE OF A DISTANT MEMORY
‘ Frustrating and compelling in equal measure, a viewer departs pleasantly bemused.’ – Read the full review here
‘Cowan is a natural comedian’ – Read the full review here
‘The jokes come at you so thick and fast, you are left gasping for breath in between chortles. – Read the full review here
‘Their creation of unique and realistic characters is brilliant’ – Read the full review here
‘An astonishing piece of theatre which provides intellectual nourishment’ – Read the full review here
‘Some moments of pure brilliance, and authenticity within its approach.’ – Read the full review here
‘A daring exploration of what drag shows can be’ – Read the full review here
‘You truly never know what’s coming next, thus you are captivated throughout.’ – Read the full review here!
‘Shakira Riddell-Morales and Abdul Jalloh bring enormous spark and energy to their role’ – Read the full review here
‘A masterclass in character comedy.’ – Read the full review here
‘An impressive retelling of a tragic, but fascinating survival story’ – Read the full review here
‘Gut-punch…impassioned’ – Read the full review here
‘Such a powerful display.’ – Read the full review here
‘Bisexual representation has never been so beautiful.’ – Read the full review here
‘Neels keeps his script nimble and pacy, allowing time and balance for the material to grow.’ – Read the full review here
‘Deliriously demented, the work cheerfully follows its own brazen logic to the extreme.’ – Read the full review here
‘Humour and heartbreak are in equal balance.’ – Read the full review here
‘Intimate, detailed and entertaining.’ – Read the full review here
‘A gentle, calm piece.’ – Read the full review here
‘Completely original, unlike anything you’ve seen before. ‘ – Read the full review here
‘Refreshing, hysterically funny, and a stroke of pure brilliance.’ – Read the full review here
JOY MULTIPLICATION PRESENTS: OUR WORST VAULT YET
‘Consistently young, fun, and full of… understanding.’ – Read the full review here
‘For a show about something so intensely personal, I just wish it was more personal.’ – Read the full review here
LACHLAN WERNER: VOICES OF EVIL
‘Lachlan deftly conjures our laughter with a barrage of jokes ranging from the crass to the highly elaborate.’ – Read the full review here
‘All the elements are in place for a dynamic production but at this stage the material stills feels slightly nascent.’ – Read the full review here
‘Ello creates a profane playground that thrills with its personal immediacy.’ – Read the full review here
LOCOMOTIVE FOR MURDER: THE IMPROVISED WHODUNNIT
‘They truly have a unique and winning formula here’ – Read the full review here
‘A truly masterful one-person performance’ – Read the full review here
‘Pleasurably infecting the audience, it’s impossible not to leave on a high, the sheer lunacy exhilarating.’ – Read the full review here
‘ I do not doubt that with some editing this could be a great piece of theatre with a strong message.’ – Read the full review here
‘Funny, vocally stunning, and incredibly relevant’ – Read the full review here
‘Heavy on satire, superbly acted, and hysterically funny from beginning to end’ – Read the full review here
POLICE COPS: BADASS BE THY NAME
‘If you see one show at the Vault Festival – make it this one!’ – Read the full review here
‘Hilarious, honest, and unfiltered.’ – Read the full review here
‘I was truly blown out of the water.’ – Read the full review here
‘A perfect balance of realistic yet still romantic and beautiful’ – Read the full review here
‘A powerful show which provides much food for thought, and Bowden is an exceptional artist.’ – Read the full review here
‘Great verve and energy.’ – Read the full review here
‘Hysterically funny, raw, and brutally honest.’ – Read the full review here
‘An audience departs not in despair but buoyed by the joy of an ingrained and enduring love.’ – Read the full review here
‘Bebe Sanders gives a sensational performance’ – Read the full review here
‘There is much fine-tuning required for this play to stand out’ – Read the full review here
‘Neubauer crafts a compelling tale of release from the past and the future capacity for reinvention’ – Read the full review here
‘A good concept’ – Read the full review here
‘Director Jessica Dromgoole keeps the pace sharp and concise, alert to every cut and slice of dialogue and every tremor of emotion’ – Read the full review here
‘Brings many important points to the surface, provoking thought and beginning conversations which need to be had for us to better understand mental health.’ – Read the full review here
‘A devastating and eye-opening account of a month full to the brim with horror and ecstasy.’ – Read the full review here
‘Intensely relatable.’ – Read the full review here
‘One of the most profound things I have ever seen.’ – Read the full review here
‘(Abbott) created a dynamic, compelling individual from whom it was impossible to look away.’ – Read the full review here
‘The group is to be commended for their ambition even if their method doesn’t always successfully convey the content.’ – Read the full review here
‘The Unconventionals has a lot of potential, and a charmingly pure heart at its core’ – Read the full review here
‘Mead and director Keith Swainston craft a careful, nuanced tension’ – Read the full review here
‘Some moments are of pure brilliance.’ – Read the full review here
‘An exciting partnership, innovative visuals, and a world ready for further exploration.’ – Read the full review here
‘A killer drag performance’ – Read the full review here
‘A great piece of theatre tackling a plethora of important conversations’ – Read the full review here
‘I just wanted so much more from this show.’ – Read the full review here
‘A sense of darkness and dank overwhelms, and the absurdity is dialed up to a visceral level throughout.’ – Read the full review here
MORE TO COME VERY SOON !
VAULT Festival has been left without a venue for 2024’s festival and beyond
• VAULT Festival have launched a #SaveVAULT campaign
• The campaign aims are to raise £150,000 by 19th March to support the festival’s survival AND to secure a new home for the festival to continue.
• You can help by donating, helping access funding networks, and helping then find a venue.
• You are officially implored to make the most of 2023’s Festival while it lasts!
{🎟 AD – PR invite – Tickets were gifted in exchange for an honest review}
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- A PISSEDMAS CAROL – REVIEW – LEICESTER SQUARE
The infamous Sh!t Faced Showtime are back in London with a festive edition, they have taken Dickens’ classic and put a drunken spin on it. The formula is the same as other iterations of the Shi!t Faced shows, one member of the cast has been boozing, and this time it is John Milton who plays Scrooge. Before the show, half a bottle of Jim Beam, some wine, and beer have been consumed in the previous 4 hours. The rest of the cast, try to keep the show on track, also aided by James Murfitt as the compere, Charles Dickens. The … More A PISSEDMAS CAROL – REVIEW – LEICESTER SQUARE - A CHRISTMAS CAROL – REVIEW – ALEXANDRA PALACE
Spine-tingling yet heart-warming, Mark Gatiss’s retelling of A Christmas Carol truly encapsulates the haunting atmosphere of a Victorian ghost story, balanced out with enough humour so as to capture the festive season. Led by Keith Allen as Scrooge, with Peter Forbes as Marley, this show is perfect for Christmas viewing. The set design by Paul Wills is instantly captivating, containing stacks of metal cabinets towering over the theatre, moveable by the cast to allow space for other central props like doors, beds and tables. In addition to this, the puppetry design by Matthew Forbes is incredibly clever, adding creepy elements to the show such … More A CHRISTMAS CAROL – REVIEW – ALEXANDRA PALACE - A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK – REVIEW – THEATRE503
The title of this winner of Theatre 503’s 2023 International Playwriting Award by Roxy Cook may seem like the set-up to a joke, but the narrative that unspools is instead an affectionate, gently barbed and at base quite sobering portrait of three ordinary souls (and one restless feline) adrift in modern Moscow. There is much affable, satirical back-and-forth commentary on the accepted myths & stereotypes of the Russian spirit & soul. Beset by the indignities of age, opportunism, graft, fatigue, the characters orbit one another, doomed to play out their roles in an unjust, predatory and saturnine universe. The play opens … More A WOMAN WALKS INTO A BANK – REVIEW – THEATRE503 - PETER PAN GOES WRONG – REVIEW – LYRIC THEATRE
Peter Pan Goes Wrong first premiered in London at the Pleasance Theatre in 2013, and earlier this year the show made its Broadway debut. Now the production is back in the West End for the Christmas season. Following on from The Play That Goes Wrong, in this production, J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan is staged by the fictitious Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society and goes awry, disastrously so. The meta-comedy is filled with slapstick comedy, sometimes the humour may be predictable and silly, but it’s universally funny throughout – there is something for everyone here, and the laughs come thick and fast … More PETER PAN GOES WRONG – REVIEW – LYRIC THEATRE - GHOST STORIES BY CANDLELIGHT – REVIEW – SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE
Drawing heavily from the classic canon of the British supernatural, HighTide’s trio of contemporary Gothic narratives uses traditional storytelling formats to address contemporary themes. Directed by Elayce Ismail, reverent musical interludes accompany tales of apparitions and nighttime conjurings that speak of women from the East of England. Unfortunately, the effect is less chilling and more lightweight, with conventional structures, predictable plot twists and an over-reliance on external forces to drive narrative shoring up some of the less relatable aspects of the genre. Nicola Werenowska’s The Beach House, perhaps the cleanest of the three tales, tells of a mother and daughter’s … More GHOST STORIES BY CANDLELIGHT – REVIEW – SAM WANAMAKER PLAYHOUSE