VOILA! Theatre Festival Gets Underway Across Nine London Venues And Features 35 Languages – Preview
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS FOR THE SHOW MAY END UP BEING GIFTED TO A REVIEWER AND GUEST/S FOR THE PURPOSES OF A REVIEWER WRITING A REVIEW
The Voila! Festival which connects border-busting theatre to citizens of everywhere, has returned on a grand scale across nine London venues.
After 10 years hosted at The Cockpit theatre in Marylebone, Voila! Theatre Festival is underway after a stellar launch party and scratch night.
On until the 24th November Voila! is a multi-venue, panlingual festival reflecting a wide breadth of cultures, stories, and aesthetics, with challenge and change in the spotlight. Throughout its programme, Voila! Theatre Festival continues its welcoming grassroots ethos for both artists and audiences, even as it grows in scope and ambition.
Amy Clare Tasker co-Director of the Voila! Theatre Festival says “We are delighted to present this new levelled-up Voila! Theatre Festival. Our aim for Voila! is to connect outposts, hubs, individuals, vanguards and burgeoning theatrical energy – wherever it’s happening, whoever is making it happen, and whatever language it’s using.”
Host venues will encompass Applecart Arts, Barons Court Theatre, Camden People’s Theatre, The Playground Theatre, The Questors Theatre, The Space Theatre, Theatre Deli, Upstairs at the Gatehouse and of course The Cockpit, with the aim of providing a launchpad for early career artists working in theatre, platforming their work right across the capital.
With a focus on programming in as many languages as possible, Voila will see three weeks of performances, scratch nights, live streams, workshops, and events which will encompass a huge range of performances from all over the world. The programme is panlingual, multidisciplinary and fully committed to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI).
To encourage as broad an audience as possible, the works encompass 35 languages present within the performances at the festival, with half the works being performed in both English and at least one other language. This is part of an endeavour to meet one aim of this collaborative festival umbrella model; which is to enable venues to engage more with their non-English speaking local communities, encouraging local people to get more involved in the arts, providing a space for social cohesion, support, and coming together in sharing cultural interests.
“An essential festival, platforming emerging artists and theatre that might be considered too political or uncomfortable for bigger venues.” The Stage
Katharina Reinthaller co-Director of the Voila! Theatre Festival says “We are immensely proud of the first year of programming this new incarnation of Voila! And we are especially proud of highlighting the inclusion of artists and audiences who don’t speak English at home, and are therefore excluded from cultural life in England; noting that language is a barrier to their engagement in the arts in London. London is home to the richest tapestry of cultures, with approximately 287 ethnic groups and nationalities calling the city home, with up to 30% of Londoners speaking a language other than English as their first language. This means that a huge number of people have little access to local venues as audiences to work that they can relate to in their native languages. We’re honoured to present a counterbalance to the status quo.”
Voila! Theatre Festival
4th – 24th November
For the full programme of shows, visit: https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/
The full programme is of course wholly accessible to English speakers, with subtitles/surtitles provided for those works not performed in English.