Tucked between the hipster heaven that is the Bussey Building and south London armpit Peckham bus depot, Basic Space Festival has taken up a brief residency at Safehouse 1, one of a collection of formerly derelict properties managed by Maverick Projects. Sophie Andrea Mitchell’s DRINKS, one of the site-responsive festival productions, is a sitcom-ish, millennial comedy on reconciling friendship with growing up.
Tel and Dal are two Sarf London geezas who grew up together on a Bermondsey estate. Dapper and ambitious Tel has moved up in the criminal underworld, away from Dal’s small-scale thieving so they don’t see each other much. Dal’s less aspirational, still robbing people on the street with his mate Becks. When they’re not out working, Dal and Becks get their drugs from young dealer Al, who lives upstairs. Life’s ticking along as normal until Tel shows up unannounced looking for the money he leant to Al a month ago. Tel’s volatile temperament, sharp intelligence and vanity mean the other three are no match for the increasing danger.
It’s St Patrick’s Day at an Irish pub in London. We’ve been there for awhile, but the night is young. There’s a five-strong band more focused on arguing the facts of Irish history than playing music. This becomes the story – drunken frontman Eamonn (Ian Horgan) attempts to tell us the story of the venerable saint. Numerous diversions, interaction, songs and plenty of banter follows a convoluted path through the power of storytelling, national identity and the veracity of history.
By guest critic Michael Davis
As the Welsh part of Celtic Trilogy at the VAULT Festival, Over The Limit Theatre with Siren has arguably saved the best to last. Directed by Rosa Crompton, and written by Sasha Wilson and Joseph Cullen, Siren is a delightfully dark comedy about murder and the reasons one could justify this most extreme of actions.
Eleanor (Wilson) and Stuart (Cullen) travel to a remote hotel in Wales to meet up. Except this isn’t a clandestine romantic break, though it does at first appear that way. They’re on the lam and need to lay low for a while.
Rob and Paul are best mates, albeit total polar opposites. They share a cozy bachelor pad where they engage in typical mid-20s, male behaviour – drinking, weight lifting, discussing women in graphic detail and fighting off zombies. Well into the zombie apocalypse, the lads lucked out – solar panels and generators keep them in heat and electricity, and they secured their block of flats so the undead can’t get in. But when a masked intruder turns up, their groove is properly disrupted. Dark comedy Living A Little is a post-apocalyptic genre mashup that’s polished and unexpectedly poignant.
by guest critic Jo Trainor
“An actor who needs money? What a unique situation!”
A long lost Kafka play is having its premiere on Broadway. Two big Hollywood action stars are playing the leads, but the fickle nature of unseen Bruce means they’ve had to cast Harry as an understudy. Breaking the fourth wall to speak to the audience, Harry takes us through his first rehearsal with actor Jake and stage manager Roxanne.
by an anonymous guest critic
It’s fair to say that watching Jerry Sadowitz is not for the fainthearted. There is no topic that this infamous comedian/magician won’t attempt to mine comedy material from. So whilst a lot of his jokes are extremely funny, quite often they are proceeded by a jolt to the audience as they realise that yes, he is about to do a bit about some of the following subjects: paedophilia, the Hillsborough disaster, rape, the Holocaust, Trump (whom he supports), Bridget Christie and Stewart Lee to name just a few. Most of the time, the audience, who are well tuned into Sadowitz’s ruthless style, are in hysterics.
By guest critic Jo Trainor
“Let’s all dance ‘round the shitty faced baby.”
Drolls (director Brice Stratford explains) were short, raucous, illegal plays from the 17th Century. Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan interregnum banned theatre from 1642, but drolls were performed in pubs and alley ways to keep theatrical traditions going. Stratford says no one has put on a droll for 400 years, and boy, have companies been missing a trick because these sketches provide a hilarious evening of entertainment. There’s sex, there’s adultery, and you’re given a shot of whisky when you come in the door.
By guest critic Alistair Wilkinson (@alistairwilks)
A political satire, blended with sexualised humour, with a sprinkle of fertiliser-addicted plants that just want to have fun with their mates – what more could you ask for on a Wednesday night? The overriding rule of their way of life – do not leave the greenhouse. If you do, be prepared to fall prey to being a part of a hipster vegan’s Instagram post.
by guest critic Jo Trainor
6 performers, 2 musicians, 1 speaker; Do Not Adjust Your Stage’s Wunderkammer is its own wonderful world of improv insanity.
Wunderkammer works by having a professional make a speech in front of the audience and performers, and from that the ensemble and musicians take ideas, stories and characters and make a series of comedic sketches. Think a funky extension of a TED talk.
The Play's The Thing UK 