There’s reason why Edinburgh is magical in August, why Adelaide is so packed in March and why underneath Waterloo station, for the last couple of years in February people have amassed to drink Greenwich beer underground and debate. Theatre Festivals like VAULT let companies share theatre with audiences that love the art form – it’s not about going to the National because you’ve got a season ticket, or going to the Old Vic because Fiennes/Spall/Spacey is up there doing something ‘unmissable’ – it’s about throwing around ideas with yourself, small companies making small theatre with big messages. It’s about the way small scale theatre affects you, the way it makes you wrestle with ideas on the tube home.