Red Peter (directed by Chris Yun-Ward) is the stage adaptation of the 1917 novel “A Report to an Academy” by Franz Kafka. If you are familiar with some of the Bohemian novelist’s work, you will know that a certain level of absurdity and weirdness is always present, and this story is not different. Red Peter is the name given to an ape that decided to become a human to escape life in a cage in a zoo and is now invited by an academy to give a speech on his transformation. Red Peter (played by … [Read more...]

Notch (directed by Madelaine Moore) is a very topical one-woman show written and performed by Danaja Wass, a young Croatian artist, tackling issues like immigration, xenophobia, mental health, sexual assault, homosexuality and homelessness (just not to miss any difficult topic). Clearly, this is not a light-hearted performance, it is intense to the point that the flyer of the show has the phone numbers of the Samaritans and Crisis UK in case “you have been affected by issues in the … [Read more...]

It is easy to get overwhelmed by the amount of different shows that the Vault Festival offers; while the quality is generally very high, there are productions that should not be missed. So, let me help you: Madame Ovary by Rosa Hesmondhalgh (Wildchild Productions) is a must-see one-woman show that will make you laugh and cry, often at the same time and it is one of the best ways to spend an hour of your life. In February 2013 at the tender age of 23, Hesmondhalgh was diagnosed with cancer: … [Read more...]

I have been interested in climate change since well before Greta Thunberg made the topic fashionable, both on a personal level trying to reduce my carbon footprint, and on a professional level, doing research into fuel cells. So, I was very excited when I read that How To Save A Rock, a show described as a “multi-award-winning musical comedy about how to still have hope”, was coming to the Vault Festival, after its well-reviewed run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The show is presented by … [Read more...]

Let me confess something: this was my first improvised show because as an amateur actor I know how difficult it is to make up things to say when on a stage in front of tens of people and I often feel personally bad for actors forgetting their lines during scripted shows. The Free Association is a London-based improvised comedy theatre and school (they even have a Wikipedia page!) that offers training programmes for aspiring improv actors and it is currently offering a wide range of shows at … [Read more...]