Plays from Vault 3

by Christopher Adams

This anthology comprises five of the best plays from VAULT 2018, London's biggest and most exciting arts festival.

Young men are dying and everyone assumes they're just casualties of London's chemsex scene. Everyone, that is, but Anthony, who is determined to investigate.Tumulus by Christopher Adams is a chilling, queer play-noir set amongst the shadowy hills of Hampstead Heath.

Critically acclaimed during its run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Lucy Burke's Glitter Punch - set in Greater Manchester - charts a troubling new relationship between mysterious John and sixteen-year-old Molly, a love that will change their lives forever.

Set in a Wigan taxi, Burkas and Bacon Butties by Shamia Chalabi and Sarah Henley is a heart-warming comedy about taxi-driver Ashraf and his twenty-something daughter, Shaz, as they negotiate the ups and downs of living in a mixed-culture family.

When bereaved mother Mary finds a disembodied arm, a conspiracy builds: maybe her child isn't quite so dead after all. Shortlisted for Soho Theatre's Tony Craze Award, Sami Ibrahim's Wind Bit Bitter, Bit Bit Bit Her is an enthralling monologue about love and loss.

The Strongbox by Stephanie Jacob is a story of domestic servitude and abuse of power, as authoritarian Kat, her ageing mother, Ma, and their teenaged slave, Maudie, jostle for power - and affection - in their dilapidated London home.

Genres: Theatre

224 pages, Paperback

Published January 25, 2018

Reviews

[Leyla Demirel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As some of you may or may not know, I am an aspiring actress; everyone I've spoken to in the theatre industry has said one of the best things I can do is read as many plays as I can - so I'm always trying to read at least one play a month. This month I read the third play anthology collection from the Vaults festival. The Vaults festival is one of my theatre highlights every year - it's a chance to see new theatre still in the early stages, some of which is really quite remarkable. The downside is it's nearly impossible to see everything. So every year when they sell their anthologies, I always try and get a copy. This anthology had 5 of the plays that were put on at the Vaults in 2018. I loved this anthology in particular because the plays that were in here were quite diverse, and even though there was only 5 plays, they're all so different from each other - there were some comedic elements as well as some really deep, emotional and complex themes. In particular, I think my favourite plays in this anthology were 'Glitter Punch', 'Burkas and Bacon Butties' and 'Wind Bit Bitter, Bit Bit Bit Her'. There's even plenty of long monologues and passages I could choose from and use to try and read aloud and practice to myself, which is a bonus!