VAULT Festival 2018

Innovation goes underground, literally, in VAULT Festival as a bold arts festival takes over the subterranean tunnels below Waterloo Station. Like London's own version of the Edinburgh Fringe, the eight-week event hosts hundreds of performances from fringe theatre to cabaret and stand-up comedy.

Joe Sellman-Leava in Monster

This is culture reclaimed for the people. There is no status quo – it’s about having a good time. There are bars galore, food pop-ups, films and themed parties which go on until the early hours.

The entertainment on offer is imaginative and sometimes provocative: Droll revives 17^th Century short plays banned for their bawdiness. Clamber into the back of a van for a cosy concert called Soul In The Van or listen to world-famous disabled comedian Georgie Morrell in her stand-up show Eyecon.

We’ve picked some of the VAULT Festival 2018 highlights:

Becoming Shades (24 January – 18 March)
An immersive circus production inspired by the myth of Persephone. The dark tunnels of Waterloo are transformed into the shadowy Underworld through a combination of aerial acrobatics, fire and music.

*EXCLUSIVE*
Culture Whisper readers receive an exclusive 20% discount when booking for 7-11 February & 14-18 February.

Use code: CULTURE20 and book now!

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Thirsty (14 – 18 March)
This is cabaret at its best: gut-wrenchingly funny, it shamelessly celebrates poor life choices. Tori Scott is known as ‘the Garland for the Grindr era’ and been named one of Time Out New York’s Top 10 Cabaret Artists. The autobiographical production is set to the music of divas like Aretha Franklin.

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Secondbests by Richard Marsh (28 January and 18 March)
A comic drama about a shambolic romance: two strangers meet on a road trip across America and they’re complete opposites. Will it work? This play, performed on two nights only, stars Olivia Poulet from The Thick of It and Sherlock.

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Monster (24 – 28 January)
This one-man show explores masculinity in modern times. It’s more relevant than ever as more celebrity sexual allegations come to light. Monster made its debut at Edinburgh, it examines male attitudes towards women and is unafraid to explore the dark side of gender.