The Wedding Room, VAULT Festival

by guest critic Lara Alier

Even though I grew up in Catalonia, my reference of  weddings come from watching American romcoms and attending two weddings in England. Despite the fact that I am a hopeless romantic, I feel this tradition is closer to resembling a funfair than a spiritual ceremony and frankly, makes me cringe. Maybe this play was trying to raise this issue. Maybe not.

Continue reading

Ian Done a Bad Thing, VAULT Festival

by guest critic Lara Alier

Forgiveness, guilt and punishment: these words are part of our nature and yet they’re still hard to talk about. The death penalty has always granted me hours of heated arguments. I’ve found our morals are malleable depending on each situation and can stretch or shrink like copper.

Continue reading

The Rain God, VAULT Festival

by guest critic Joanna Trainor

Charles Mallory Hatfield made it rain – and rain and rain and rain.

This is the little-known story* of a man who went from selling sewing machines to controlling the heavens, told through the eyes of a little boy in Manchester. Hatfield would travel to drought-ridden cities with his secret mixture of chemicals and, most of the time, the weather turned.

Continue reading

Ad Libido, VAULT Festival


by guest critic Amy Toledano

Part cabaret, part one woman show, part stand up, Ad Libido is the hilarious story of Fran Bushe and her journey to fixing sex. Completely honest, this show breaks the taboo around female sexuality and the way in which more often than not, it is swept under the rug and deemed unimportant.

Continue reading

Foul Pages, Hope Theatre

Image result for foul pages, hope theatre

by Laura Kressly

1603. Queen Elizabeth is dead, and James I is in power. Sir Walter Raleigh is imprisoned in the Tower for conspiring against the new king. His lover Mary pines for him in her stately home in Wiltshire, so she and her handmaid plot to secure the king’s favour by putting on a new play just for him, by Shakespeare’s company of players.

Continue reading

The Very Important Child, VAULT Festival

by guest critic Amy Toledano

It feels a little strange writing a review of this wonderfully absurd piece because I don’t think any two people could have the same opinion of it. In my case, I fell in love with this movement-driven show. The nine stages of the ego is the centre point of the entire play but we never know what direction we are going to be taken in next.

Continue reading

Amy Conway’s Super Awesome World, VAULT Festival

Image result for Amy Conway’s Super Awesome World

by guest critic Amy Toledano

Amy Conway’s Super Awesome World is an interactive whirlwind full of games, quests and phone calls. When we meet Amy she tells us about the time her Dad bought her her first gaming console, a second-hand Nintendo Entertainment System, and how it changed her life.

Continue reading

The Quantum Physics of My Heart, VAULT Festival 

by guest critic Meredith Jones Russell

The Quantum Physics of My Heart is a delightful one-woman show inviting the whole audience to take a trip down memory lane to reminisce about the 1990s-2000s, as well as the timeless and universal challenges of being a teenager.

Continue reading

Angry, Southwark Playhouse

by guest critic Joanna Trainor

“Remember me; I sparkled.”

Philip Ridley’s ability to write about the most grotesque scenarios with the most beautiful language will never cease to amaze. The director tweeted to say he was glad I enjoyed the show, but “enjoy” never feels like the right word for Ridley. Uncomfortable, anxious, grossed out but oddly moved by the whole thing seems far more appropriate. And let’s face it, we wouldn’t want our in yer face theatre any other way.

Continue reading