relationships

Siren, VAULT Festival

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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.

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The Long Trick, VAULT Festival

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Tristan is the stuff of Cornish legends. The Robin Hood-esque figure who lives along the Helford River gives much needed gifts to local people the moment they reach utter despair – or so people believe. The reality is rather different. Tristan does live on the Helford, on a boat with his teenaged daughter Kelsey. He can’t find a job so steals electronics from second homes and sells them on to make a living. He occasionally helps out locals when he’s feeling flush, but his virtue is up for debate. When Tristan meets Gale, a vegan activist who suddenly appears in Cornwall after years of drifting around Europe, his world is transformed, but not quite in the manner he expects.

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Living A Little, VAULT Festival

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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.

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Testament, VAULT Festival

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by guest critic Michael Davis

The idea of retelling biblical stories is nothing new. During the infancy of European theatre, the Mystery plays were popular for showing highlights of the Bible. Much later, during the 17th century, John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost would – contrary to author’s intentions – spur an interest in the anti-hero and biblical stories from a revisionist perspective. People over the centuries have questioned aspects of the Bible that they’ve found problematic for various reasons. Directed by Lucy Jane Atkinson, Tristan Bernays’ Testament not only addresses some of the problematic passages, but also give a voice to minor characters in the Bible.

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Blood & Bone, VAULT Festival

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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.

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Save + Quit, VAULT Festival

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Joe and Steph are two lonely Londoners, and Cara and Dylan are dealing with grief in Dublin. The four young people, in two pairs of intertwined stories, disclose their anxieties and struggles in narrative monologues that are strong examples of moving storytelling. But they are only loosely linked thematically, and there is little that conveys a wider reason for placing these characters within the same work. The stories command attention as do the performances, but the question of why they are presented together never disappears.

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This Must Be the Place, VAULT Festival

by guest critic Nastazja Somers

“Home, is where I want to be / Pick me up and turn around / I feel numb, born with a week heart/ I guess I must be having fun”

David Byrne’s lyrics to ‘This Must Be the Place’, one of the biggest hits from Talking Heads, can be easily seen as the inspiration for the production of This Must Be the Place which, after playing at the Latitude Festival, is now at VAULT Festival. Acclaimed playwrights Brad Birch and Kenneth Emson target the themes of loneliness and belonging in a moving and captivating way. However, whilst the piece is also beautifully acted and directed, it lacks a certain precision in conveying its message.

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The HIV Monologues, Ace Hotel

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By guest critic Jo Trainor

Diagnosis, dread, death, devotion, Patrick Cash has written five interlocking, thoughtful monologues that explore HIV from the most human perspective.

Alex isn’t wearing his power bottom singlet, but his James Dean swagger and Nick’s beautiful eyes are the making of a dream Tinder date. Until Nick reveals he’s HIV positive. Alex legs it, but his audition for Barney the next day forces him to re-evaluate his behaviour.

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A Hundred Different Words for Love, VAULT Festival

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by guest critic Michael Davis

“The Sun is just a star…”

Language. Love. Since time immemorial, human beings have been trying to capture in words the essence of this most nuanced of emotions. Fresh from his success with Team Viking at last summer’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, James Rowland premieres his latest show, A Hundred Different Words For Love at The Vaults. Set within the same universe as Team Viking, Rowland, through anecdotes and music, offers a personal take on the oldest of stories.

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Daddy’s Girl, VAULT Festival

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by guest critic Michael Davis

Prison dramas are practically a genre in their own right on television and the silver screen, but for the stage they are not so common (apart from in a historical context). Daddy’s Girl, which is directed by Alice Malin, focuses on Terry (Mark Wingett) –  in jail for life for armed robbery – and his adult daughter Eliza (Georgia Brown).

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