‘I’m not a king or a Wizard… but I do have a story to tell’

Meet Ben Bundle. He likes fishing and snorkelling, jumping off rocks and exploring the magical island of Bryher with his friends.

But after an accident leaves Bun blind, he fears his days if adventure are over. Until one day he is swept into the realm of his favourite story, the ancient legend of King Arthur, and Bun’s world changes forever.

Get ready for a gripping adventure where a broken promise, a magic sword and a ghostly king reveal to Bun a life-changing quest of his own.

The Sleeping Sword is a new adaptation of a beloved Morpurgo novel. A tale about magic, mystery, hope, love, triumph and disaster, it weaves a contemporary story of self-discovery with Arthurian legend in a way that is utterly spellbinding.

An exciting family adventure with creative access at its heart

The Sleeping Sword was created through collaborative workshops with visually impaired and sighted actors, and a visually impaired dramaturg. It is performed by a cast of three including two visually impaired actors. It premiered at The Watermill Theatre in 2022, and subsequently on a schools tour, with integrated creative audio description and captioning.… Read More

Two women fall in love and begin their life together. However, hostility to sign language users is on the rise throughout society. Can the couple’s relationship transcend communication, social, and political barriers?

This year’s winning National Theatre New Views play, Barrier(s) is written by 17-year-old Eloise Pennycott from Southend High School for Girls in Essex. The play was chosen from 427 entries to be given a full production with a professional cast at the Dorfman Theatre. The play was staged bilingually in spoken English and BSL.

“Barrier(s) balances the messiness of human relationships with timely and incisive reflections on the historical injustices of oralism. It is a provocative exploration of the dynamics between language and control.” – David Bellwood, head of Access at the National Theatre

Written by Eloise Pennycott

Starring Lara Steward and Erin Siobhan Hutching

Associate Director – Paula Garfield

Set and Costume Design – Zoe Hurwitz

Lighting Design – Ola Przytula

Sound Design – Mike Winship

Video and Creative Captioning – Rachel Sampley

Stage Managers – Ben Donoghue, Anna Hill, Edie Fitt-Martin

Production Manager – Tabitha Piggott

Casting – Chloe Blake

Head of Access – David Bellwood

Production Photography – Helen Murray… Read More

Hannah lives by the seaside with Mum, Dad, and two brothers, Ben and Joshua. The brothers are very different. Ben lets Hannah in his room, they play spies together, and, sometimes, he even gives her a hug. These things aren’t possible with Joshua. It’s like he speaks a different language.

We have to learn about each other’s worlds, says Mum.

Mission accepted.

Full of laughter, love, and original music, Joshua (and Me) explores what it’s like to grow up in a house where, however loved you are, your needs are not your family’s first concern. As Hannah grows, so does her understanding of Joshua. We journey with her from seven to eighteen, when it’s time to leave home. But Hannah’s life has been moulded around the needs of her brother: “I don’t know who I am if I’m not his sister”. How can she find her way in a world where no-one knows, or cares, what it’s like to be Joshua’s sister?

Based on Rachel Hammond’s own life, alongside stories from other siblings, Joshua (and Me) provides permission and space for siblings to honestly and openly explore their experiences, too.

Reviews:

★★★★★ “An absolute masterclass on the human experience that will leave you aching with love.”… Read More

“You’re tellin’ me that just because Fiach wears a blazer, cos he reads Joyce and listens to the fucking Smiths, that he hasn’t done stuff, worse stuff than me?”

When Max pays Ronan a visit at his restaurant in Dublin, he’s determined to prove to her how far he’s come, but she’s got something bigger to discuss. Over the course of one wine-soaked evening, old wounds are exposed and new truths uncovered. MEAT is a story of class, consent and how modern Ireland reckons with the transgressions buried in its past. How can one couple navigate their shared history when their memories don’t quite match up?

We were proud to be supported by Solace Women’s Aid. Solace support women and children in London to build safe lives and strong futures, free from domestic and sexual violence and abuse. 

Reviews:

★★★★The Stage, ★★★★ TimeOut, ★★★★★ London Living Large, ★★★★ London Theatre Reviews, ★★★★ London Pub Theatres, ★★★★ Spy in the Stalls, ★★★★ Theatre News

‘This is a tense, knotty, lean forward in your seat play … I savoured every morsel.’ Lyn Gardner, StageDoor

 

“Atkinson’s direction creates an intensity which leaves the audience reeling long after the show ends.” ★★★★ A Younger Theatre

 

“Atkinson adds touches that intrigue and distance the audience in equal measures, as she very carefully prepares for the disaster to come” ★★★★ The Reviews Hub

 

 

Written by Gillian Greer

Starring Sean Fox, India Mullen, and Elinor Lawless

Lighting design – Zia Bergin Holly

Sound Design – Annie May Fletcher

Set and Costume Design – Rachel Stone and Eleanor Bull

Intimacy/Movement Director – Adelaide Waldrop

Stage Manager – Bryony Byrne

Production Manager – Harry Fearnley-Brown

Assistant Director – Yusuf Niazi

Produced by Emily Carewe for 45North

Production Photography by Alex Brenner

Soph and her best friend Jel love scary stories. They hunt for the best ones on creepypasta sites, hunting the darkest online corners. But then strange and beautiful new girl Ellie turns up at school with a horror story of her own; a mysterious figure in the woods, the shadow of an axe. And when a girl in a nearby town goes missing, it seems their online monster’s come to life.

SOMETHING AWFUL is a new play from Vault Award winning and Off West End Award nominated team Tatty Hennessy and Lucy Jane Atkinson, inspired by the real true crime story of the Slenderman. It’s a play about what we should be scared of, and where the real monsters live.

Winner  – Commendation OFFCOM for Short Run

Nominated for an Origins Award for Outstanding New Work, VAULT 2020

Reviews:

“a fantastic production which is sure to have even the most hardened horror fan on the edge of their seat” ★★★★★ Spy in the Stalls

“Something Awful races its audience along, and this strong ensemble deftly encounters each twist and turn.” The Play’s The Thing

Written by Tatty Hennessy

Starring Melissa Parker, Monica Anne, and Natalya Martin

Produced by Flux Theatre

Lighting Design by Holly Ellis

Sound Design by Sam Glossop

Stage Management by Beth Pratt

Poster Design by Madison Clare… Read More

1911. Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. A young woman hacks her husband to death with an axe while he sleeps. Is she a murderer? Is she protecting herself and her children? Does the truth even matter?

This new play by Mark Weatherley shines a light on the true story of Angelina Napolitano, an Italian immigrant who murdered her abusive husband in turn of the century Canada, while exploring themes of justice, domestic violence, and patriarchal dominance.

Written by Mark Weatherly

Starring Fiona Mongillo, Olivia Viggiani, and Siobhan O’Malley

Lighting Design and Stage Management by John Colm LeBurg

Produced by Here For Now… Read More

Cleopatra’s death by asp is a common myth, largely scientifically disproven. Set in a broadcast recording center, Anguis is an imagined conversation between the great pharaoh Cleopatra and a contemporary immunologist. Join us in the studio as we unpack Cleopatra’s story, exploring alternatives to the fetishised popular truth.

A story exploring our responsibility to seek the truth in a post-truth era. This debut piece from Olivier Award winner Sheila Atim featured original music. Commissioned by Avalon and BBC Arts.

Written by Sheila Atim

Starring Janet Kumah, Peter Losasso and Paksie Vernon

Sound Design by Anna Clock

Lighting Design by Dan Saggars

Set Design by Bex Kemp

Stage Managed by Sophie Duffin

Produced by Avalon Theatre and BBC Arts… Read More

Meet Ash Phoenix, The ultimate one-man band: guitarist, pianist, drummer… dad.

A wannabe star unexpectedly becomes a father – and learns it’s hard to make it big walking on Lego.

This one-man musical comedy is played entirely live by virtuoso rocktopus Andy Gallo. From No. 1 songwriter Jessica Sharman and Richard Marsh, Fringe First winner (Dirty Great Love Story) and BBC Audio Drama Award Best Comedy winner (Radio 4’s Love & Sweets). Lucy Jane Atkinson directs this uplifting heartbreak banger: you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll rock.

Reviews:

The rest of his species was declared extinct.
His location is a closely guarded secret.
He is the last of his kind.

Vespertilio is a new play about love, loneliness, lies and bats. The story of one man’s obsession and the charming young runaway he meets in the dark.

Exploring ideas of conservation and isolation, and tackling the issue of loneliness within the LGBTQ+ community, VESPERTILIO ​was inspired by the true story of the real last Greater Mouse-Eared bat living in Britain, created after a piece published by Patrick Barkham in The Guardian caught the eye of our writer. The play was given a feature article in the Guardian the week before we opened. Read it here.

We’re working with the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) to gain a better understanding of conversation efforts and plights of bats living in Britain. We’re also using information provided by the BCT in our marketing campaign to promote awareness and encourage education and conversation.

Reviews:

“Lucy Jane Atkinson’s nifty production… is such a pleasure, right down to Verity Johnson’s tiny but just-so design touches, and a canny use of light and dark. Both actors are brilliant.” Lyn Gardner, StageDoor

★★★★★ “One of the highlights of VAULT Festival so far… Vespertilio is the real deal, and it could easily transfer.”… Read More

“It’s a bit weird to be sitting in the Arctic Circle chatting to a fit boy with your Dad’s ashes in your backpack”

Rory’s Dad was an explorer. Well, not literally. Literally he was a Geography teacher. But inside, she knows, he was Bear Grylls.

And when he dies suddenly in an accident, Rory knows he needs her help to make one last expedition.

With a plastic compass and Dad’s ashes at her side, Rory sets off in the footsteps of all the dead beardy explorers before her, to get Dad to the North Pole. Before Mum finds out they’ve gone.

A Hundred Words for Snow is about being an explorer in a melting world. It’s a coming of age story. With polar bears.

After its original run at VAULT Festival 2018, the show transferred for a month long run at Trafalgar Studios on the West End, from March 5th-30th 2019. That run garnered us 3 Offie nominations, for Best Director, Most Promising Playwright, and Best Play, and a win for Gemma Barnett as Best Actress.

Winner of the VAULT Festival Origins Award for Outstanding New Work.