Going to The Vaults for the first time in the old Waterloo tunnels was not what I would call an enjoyable experience. As fringe and hipster as it may look it also looks like a third world country could do better in creating a theatre venue that does not intoxicate people with its dampness. It is a very claustrophobic place, uncared for, and it made me uncomfortable. Of course it won’t be the same for everyone – many may like the vibe, the decoration or the graffiti on the walls of the tunnels.
The Vaults is a cavernous multiplex of creative spaces and bars found in the graffitied corridors under train tracks leaving Waterloo. It oozes a cool friendliness akin to the warmest of creative hubs. Arrive early or stay late because you’ll want to spend a decent amount of time there. Ushered into one of the compartments branching off the central thoroughfare, one bloke lay dramatically prostrate before us. Reservations about melodramatic physical theatre and interpretive dance are quickly washed away when our bard, George Mann, arises to tell us the story of Homer’s Odyssey.
Having seen Karis Halsall’s part in the ambitious 503Fusions (which she also curated) last month, it was with, I’ll admit, a little trepidation that I entered the aptly named “Cage” space in The Vaults under Waterloo last night for Megolopolitan. Extended from the 15 minutes I saw her perform at Theatre503, this is Halsall’s hour long piece, which pulls together projected images, live and pre-recorded music and sound, spoken word and vignettes, performed by Halsall and her collaborator Samuel Organ. I had thoroughly enjoyed her short piece at 503, but how would it translate to something longer?
Behind Closed Doors is almost a lesson in why you shouldn‘t have fourteen performers in a giant cave performing together. Then again, it is also a great example of why you should. The Chaménos Collective trades in shows that feel much bigger than they are and continue to put on extremely interesting shows, warts and all.
We all tell lies and occasionally those lies take on a life of their own, either as hilarious stories or horrific mistakes. Yve Blake has effectively crowd sourced the material for her latest show Lie Collector, and has come up with an hours worth of comedy based on lies shared with her by the internet. From simply reading aloud the lies shared to writing elaborate song/dance/video pieces her energetic performance will keep you captivated from beginning to end.
Initially performed at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival, True Brits has added to the pertinent debate of what it means to be British in the 21st century. Written by the talented Vinay Patel, who will shortly be writing a short film for BBC iPlayer and working on a pilot on the prestigious C4 screenwriting programme, True Brits will make its return to the theatre scene at this year’s VAULT Festival. With VAULT Festival’s theme of ‘inequality in politics’ being the driving force for this year, True Brits is a piece of theatre that could not be anymore timely or on the mark! Ahead of this year’s festival, Theatrefullstop were able to talk to Vinay about his motivations for writing the play, what he’d like to achieve with his play and why London is so welcoming!
Initially developed on the reputable Royal Court Young Writer’s programme, Tom Crowley’s Ghost City couldn’t be anymore timely, as the show questions the lengths the government will go to in order to distract the nation’s attention away from the topical issues of unemployment, the cost of living and homelessness by the installation of unnecessary pieces of artistry. As the founder of Crowley & Co. prepares for the company’s performance of Ghost City, he speaks to Theatrefullstop about what he enjoys most about directing the show, how developing the show at the Royal Court has proved inspirational and his hopes for what the audience will take away from the performance.