VAULT Festival 2020 

The festival officially opened on Tuesday and we hope that you all are ticking lots of shows off your lists and connecting with some brilliant new artists and theatre makers.

This week we’re showcasing more of what our alumni are producing at the festival in Week Four (17th February – 23rd February).

Week Four:

Nearly Human
By Perhaps Contraption
Tuesday 18th – Sunday 23rd February

Tickets

This nine-piece, multi award-winning progressive brass band embark on a curious audio-theatrical journey. Replete with enormous choral harmonies, dynamic choreography, mesmerising contact juggling and  thoughts on existence and happenstance.

This is a piece of gig theatre which contemplates life’s baffling, unlikely origins and the tiny stories weaved between our atoms and the stars. Bursting with triumphant horns, fascination and wonder.

Producer: Alexander Ferguson, Workshop Participant 2018

Alex is a North-west best producer, who started his career running creative community programmes in deprived areas of Merseyside. He now manages Everyman & Playhouse’s spoken word programme A Lovely Word, is producer for Homotopia, the UK’s longest running LGBTQ+ arts festival, as well as freelance producing a number of exciting and ambitious productions such as Perhaps Contraptions’ debut, Nearly Human.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received in your career as a producer?

“Do not rush into decisions but move swiftly. Hold your nerve, think pragmatically, consult all relevant parties, and have someone you really trust you can sense check with.”  

 

Omelette
By Long Distance
Tuesday 18th – Sunday 23rd February

Tickets

Mia and Mo have been to all the marches, turned off the heating and eaten the goldfish – but the climate’s still collapsing and they’re buckling under the pressure of saving the planet. 

Omelette is a new play by Anna Spearpoint about climate anxiety, giving things up, and the pressure to do the right thing all the time. The creative team are working to ensure that Omelette is as sustainable as possible.

Omelette is supported by Arts Council England and the Arcola PLAYWROUGHT programme. The company will be offering shadowing opportunities for National Youth Theatre technical and acting members and Tash Hyman will be mentoring a participant in the Arts Emergency scheme which seeks to break down class and economic barriers in the theatre industry.

Please let Tom know if you’d like to come along by emailing [email protected].

Producer: Tom Bevan, workshop participant 2019

Tom is currently Assistant Producer at Theatr Clwyd, Wales’ foremost producing theatre where most recently he line-produced an immersive version of A Christmas Carol. He took part in the Stage One New Producer’s Workshop in 2019, which inspired him to take on solo project, Omelette, at VAULT Festival 2020.

What have you found most challenging about this production and how are you tackling it? 

“By thinking hard about how we can make this show as sustainable as possible, some of the things I would usually take for granted on a production – buying props, hiring a van to pick up set, printing flyers and posters – have been questioned at every point. This has been a challenging but hugely beneficial way to engage with theatre making during a climate crisis, and has certainly made me rethink some of the usual making processes I’d otherwise take for granted. I have also found that fitting in the time for a show like this in London, around my full time job at a venue hundreds of miles away in North Wales, requires constant juggling and plenty of late nights!” 

The Nobodies
By Chalk Line Theatre
Tuesday 18th – Sunday 23rd February

Tickets

When a local hospital announces its closure, panic ensues.

Healthcare Assistant Rhea is forced to look for work elsewhere. Local lad Aaron worries about his mum’s treatment in the cancer unit. And Curtis just isn’t sure where he’s going to sleep. But when the three witness a horrific accident, a rare opportunity presents itself. As a dangerous decision triggers a wild chain of events, Rhea, Aaron and Curtis soon find themselves gathering power, influence and infamy – and inspiring a cohort of vigilante activists.

What does it take to enact real change? And what would you sacrifice to keep it?

Producer: Vikesh Godhwani, workshop participant 2017

Vikesh Godhwani is a freelance theatre producer, director and writer who graduated with an MA in Arts and Cultural Management from Kings College London. Vikesh worked as an assistant producer with multi-award winning China Plate during their 2018 Fringe run and beyond, the highlight being the autumn tour of Trying It On by David Edgar (Midlands Arts Centre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and The Royal Court).

Other producing credits include Mara by The New Victorians (The Vault Festival), Testament by Chalk Line Theatre (The Hope Theatre, Tobacco Factory, New Diorama and Home) and She Sells Sea Shells by Scandal and Gallows Theatre (Edinburgh Fringe).

As part of Chalk Line Theatre, Vikesh is an Associate Artist at The Lion and Unicorn Theatre, London.

How has Stage One helped you in your career as a producer? 

“Stage One gave me incredible practical knowledge on producing through the New Producers Workshop. The fact that the sessions were given by very successful commercial producers and that we were learning through looking at current examples of west-end productions, gave me an insight into how it’s actually done. This demystified the process, providing me with the confidence I needed to take the next step in my career.”