Waterloo Vaults

Head of State, VAULT Festival

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By Zahid Fayyaz

Given the state of our current world leaders, this play is certainly a timely one to put on. It follows Mo, the newly elected Head of State of Nechora – a country so tiny, it’s literally not even on the map. Due to the seemingly insignificant size of his country, the congratulatory phone calls from the world leaders turn into impromptu therapy sessions, and Mo is suddenly privy to the thoughts and secrets of some of the world’s most powerful people. He hopes he can use this access to help his country, but things start going wrong.

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Connie Wookey: Denied, VAULT Festival

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by Steph J. Watkins

Connie Wookey: Denied is just one of the musically comedic, one-woman-shows on offer this year at VAULT Festival, and it certainly packs a punch. Wookey tells us of her times in America, travelling in Canada and contemplating life in what could have been her last moments on earth. We follow her various experiences as a struggling actor, told through fabulously-written parodies to popular songs and quick-witted humour.

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Something Awful, VAULT Festival

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by Evangeline Cullingworth

Soph (Natalya Martin) and Jel (Monica Anne) are pouring over creepypasta horror stories at break time and catch the attention of Ellie (Melissa Parker), the new girl in school who wears her phone in her shirt pocket like a sheet of armor. Their interest become fixations, and what begins with giggles and goosebumps quickly reaches dramatic heights. Something Awful perfectly recreates some of the most memorable times at school, the battles fought over playground loyalties, the fanatic scrutiny of gossip and the stories told in ravishing detail. The breakneck thrill of the internet adds to this nostalgia to create a stomach dropping tragedy.

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NUMB, VAULT Festival

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by Brad Tutt

Just before entering the theatre, a member of the company comes out to brief the audience. He there will be a joint audience and company discussion after the performance. This evokes a feeling that we are about to be confronted with something unexpected, which is proved right – by the company performing a live cover of a Rage Against the Machine song.

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The Archive of Educated Hearts, VAULT Festival

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by Emma Lamond

The Archive of Educated Hearts shows a steely determination to deliver a hopeful and uplifting whirlwind tour through the lives of four women affected by breast cancer.  Casey Jay Andrews presents this deeply personal, yet painfully universal, experience with the utmost kindness and calm. This provides the audience with a space to celebrate the women who make up the narrative of the piece, and also take time to reflect on their own experiences of cancer.

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Cassie and the Lights, VAULT Festival

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by Becky Lennon

This story, based on real-life events, follows the lives of three sisters – Cassie (Alex Brain), Tin (Michaela Murphy) and Kit (Emily McGlynn) – after their mother disappears at a bowling alley. Although the piece focuses on the teenage perspective of the British care system, it also acknowledges the differences within individual families, the value of these differences, and invites us to ask, what makes a family?

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The Legend of the Holy Drinker, VAULT Festival

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by Euan Vincent

Hunchtheatre have a thing for re-inventing forgotten fiction. Their new production, The Legend of the Holy Drinker, provides a 2020 update to Joseph Roth’s 1939 novella of the same name. It mixes the time-honoured, moral fetishes of the original with the political milieu of our Brexit-addled times.

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BattleActs, VAULT Festival

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by Bryony Rae Taylor

[A]n age-old improvising exercise is the one where two players perform a scene in which each line begins with the next sequential letter of the alphabet.

[B]ecause my review could just be: ‘good improvisers have good nights, and good improvisers have bad nights: BattleActs, an improv group that split into two teams and battle for points, are very good and they had a very good night…’

Instead, here’s what happened on the night I saw them. In alphabetical order.

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