Theatre

WORLD PREMIERE
Presented by Theatre Gu Leòr in collaboration with WHɎTE

“Dar a thig an t-uisge gu grad, dè chailleas sinn?

/ When the water comes suddenly, what do we lose?”

A raw howl of grief and an act of protest for what has already been lost and what could follow. MAIM is a love song to the land and language of Mull, a burst of panic in the face of extinction, because the time to take action is running out.

This unique collaboration between Scotland’s award-winning Gaelic theatre company Theatre Gu Leòr and the hugely successful contemporary Gaelic band WHYTE was inspired by their latest album Tairm. MAIM will also include newly composed work by Ross Whyte and Gaelic lyrics and text by Alasdair C. Whyte, in collaboration with the cast. 

MAIM is a departure for Theatre Gu Leòr from their Gaelic text-based work. Collaborating with award-winning Irish choreographer Jessica Kennedy of Junk Ensemble, the piece will combine movement, live music, spoken word, and video designed by Lewis Den Hertog, with integrated BSL throughout.

MAIM is a call to action, giving voice to the frustrations of the next generation who care deeply about the crisis facing ar tìr agus ar teanga – our land and language.

Across the length and breadth of Scotland, place names created and used in Gaelic-speaking communities are being forgotten and their meanings lost, as land mismanagement, non-native tree planting and the effects of climate change threaten to drown the land and language. Even as the success of Gaelic Medium Education grows and numbers of learners rise in the Central belt, the language is vanishing from the rural heartlands, in danger of becoming extinct.

MAIM /mʌɪm/: panic; terror; consternation; alarm; an outburst.

Raised on Mull, Alasdair C. Whyte of WHYTE was inspired by his post-doctoral research in the Celtic and Gaelic Department of the University of Glasgow into the place names of the Torsay region of Mull, and what is causing their disappearance. 

“It’s time for us as Gaelic speakers to realise once and for all that our language and culture are in no way inferior to English language and culture. The way to leave this toxic way of thinking in the past is to celebrate and honour the people who came before us and create new things in our language. I am hugely grateful to Theatre Gu Leòr for giving me a chance to do this in MAIM.” – Alasdair C. Whyte

MAIM is fully accessible to non-Gaelic speakers and has integrated BSL in every performance #MAIM

A biting and heartfelt comedic odyssey about what it really means to be loud.

Gobby is the story of one woman’s search to accept and process the myriad ways she’s been put down. Using party paraphernalia to tell the story, Bri (Irvine) toots her horn through a series of house parties that may well allow her to escape a multifaceted emotional trap.

Newcomer Jodie Irvine had one of the buzziest plays at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, taking on the Big Belly; the space which saw Millie Thomas’s Dust, Monica Dolan’s The B*EASTS, Maddie Rice’s Pickle Jar, and of course the little known Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge introduce new female writer-performers to the world. Gobby followed up gaining word-of-mouth momentum with audiences for its smart and dark take down of coercive control. Following sold out performances in Edinburgh and as part of Pleasance Theatre’s “Best of Edinburgh” Season Autumn 2019, Gobby comes to VAULT festival for seven performances this February. 

Five parties. One big mouth. Bri is not who she used to be, so she’s revisiting the five parties that changed her. Gobby is a one-person playlist of awkward encounters, starting over and growing up, staged amongst hoards of party memorabilia and a whole host of anarchic festivities. 

As we increasingly train ourselves to question if disconcerting behavior masks trauma or an uncomfortable truth Jodie Irvine’s first full length play deals with the old analogy of the swan gliding over the surface, as the feet spin beneath the water. Delving into gaslighting and emotional abuse – which so many people suffer at the hands of controlling partners – Gobby is a roar for a return to real life. 

A darkly comic telling of survival, and a lesson in how to throw a really good party.

This new play is written and performed by Jodie Irvine (Soho Young Company, The Second City) astonishing audiences at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe having premiered in London at The Lion & Unicorn Theatre, and performances in Manchester, Bedford and Exeter supported by Arts Council England. 

“Unforgettable” ★★★★★ Broadway Baby

“A raw, triumphant and soaring one-woman odyssey” ★★★★★ Stage Whispers

“Pure genius” ★★★★ North West End

★★★★ Remote Goat

★★★★ Feminist Fringe Review

Gobby is directed by Rosie Snell and produced in Edinburgh and at VAULT Festival by Jodie Irvine.

Holly Stars is inspired. From the producer of Gals Aloud starring Cheryl Hole – 2019’s West End Cinderella starring Baga Chipz – comes the brand new mini-series, Holly Stars: Inspirational. 

Over six episodes launching on YouTube from February 4 2020 discover what a ‘mamman’ is, what Michael from the Great British Bake Off’s flat looks like, and a squirrel’s favourite food; all part of Holly’s mission to discover what-in-the-world is inspirational. Answering such questions as, nature? When is it green? When is it brown? How does camouflage work? 

Holly Stars is a stand-up comedian from ‘The North’, where she enjoys a leisurely life of Tia Maria and petty theft. Constantly the victim of her terrible neighbours, Fat Julie and Posh Sue, Holly regularly escapes to London and Manchester to run her comedy cabaret, Holly Stars’ Time of the Month. 

Holly’s husband Gary is getting out of prison next week, and until then Holly will be entertaining audiences all over the UK (anywhere that’ll have her) in cabarets and comedy clubs.

Tuckshop are a London based Drag producing powerhouse, on the scene since 2018, making work with the best in the business for stages around the UK and further afield. Holly Stars: Inspirational is their first mini-series. Tuckshop is headed up by Christopher D. Clegg, director of Holly Stars: Inspirational. 

How did some rowdy crows nearly mark the beginning and end of the six part series? Find out, with Holly Stars.

Presented by Sonnet Youth and Company Many

Tap – scroll – like – click – follow – repeat… Award-winning writer and director Drew Taylor-Wilson’s thick skin, elastic heart explores the everyday overwhelming instability of life in modern Britain through a hopeful millennial gaze.

Scrolling through porn addiction to miscarriages to mental health to queer identity, this darkly comedic show is about the overwhelming pressure of high societal expectations and constant digital connection. thick skin, elastic heart is a hybrid poetic theatre production encapsulating the current zeitgeist of life in your late twenties. 

As the rise of poetry native to Instagram gives birth to a new literary genre providing words of comfort and clarity to millions of young people, unbeknown to the cynics who may not approve of it’s literary prowess, it has given way to a renaissance in spoken word for those seeking more resonant prose beyond their screens. Performed by the punchy and diverse cast of Cameron Fulton (Scottish Feature Film: CONNECT), Danielle Jam (TV’s Molly & Mack), Robert Elkin (TV’s Peaky Blinders) and Charlotte Driessler (BBC Radio 3’s Midsummer Night’s Dream), this is Under Milk Wood for and by millenials, exposing the inner thoughts, fears and aspirations behind the Instagram filters and the 280 character tweets. 

Playing like a frenzied scroll through a social media feed, the show takes the audience on an exhilarating and emotional journey through the characters’ lives. With seemingly disconnected pieces running into one another at speed, woven together with athletic physical delivery, thick skin, elastic heart showcases a kaleidoscope of voices from across the UK and one particular generation often dismissed as ‘snowflakes’. 

Drew Taylor-Wilson commented; “thick skin, elastic heart has been in development for ten years; the language of the work is really unique, it’s equal parts poetry and character driven dialogue, a style that I have been working for a long time to hone. It’s a labour of love that I am so excited to share across Scotland. 

“I wrote it because I wanted to give more of a voice to a group in our society that is so frequently dismissed, but the themes throughout have a universal appeal that spans generations. I’ve created a forum for topics that are affecting our younger people now, presented in a way that feels appropriate to the time and their short-form digital interaction. The performance is messy and elegant and at least one of the segments will resonate with everyone’s own personal experience.” 

thick skin, elastic heart comes to Eden Court, Inverness on Saturday 1 February.

“The spoken word medium proves to be a touch of genius that gives this electrically-written play some moments to savour long after the show has ended.” ★★★★ The Wee Review 

“Unmissable reflection on theatre as a site of progressive expression” – The List.

As the homelessness crisis continues to soar, a brand new work uncovers the forgotten LGBTQ+ displaced youth finding solace in gay saunas. 

Working together with a mix of young LGBTQ+ homeless and ex-homeless people in London, Vicky Moran (former Assistant Director at Cardboard Citizens), has created a play that shines a light on a staggering 24% of the UK’s homeless youth population. 

Combining lived experiences from some of the production’s cast and creatives, verbatim interview clips and an original score, No Sweat gives voice to those underrepresented in theatre, and reveals the real stories of a portion of society at risk, finding temporary shelter despite a dearth of safe spaces.

Transforming London’s Pleasance Theatre into a steamy sauna, this in-your-face experience will immerse the audience in a carefully constructed set complete with locker rooms, toilets, towels and benches where they meet Tristan; made to feel like a monster whose toothbrush had to be kept a safe distance from his family’s, Charlie; a Pakistani Asylum seeker, fighting to prove his sexuality to gain citizenship, and Alf; whose Mummy loves him but God doesn’t, so he was left with only one option…to run.

In a world where stability is a second from slipping through your fingers, austerity combined with prejudice sees young people putting themselves at risk all too often. No Sweat tells the truthful, dark and difficult story of three people navigating a new frontier of the homelessness epidemic. 

‘It’s unseen. No one’s telling the stories. You don’t see us on the streets because saunas and Grindr mean that gay men don’t have to be homeless in the traditional sense. It’s all hidden.’ 

The cast features three of the UK’s most exciting actors emerging on screen and television; Denholm Spurr (Tristan) who has his own experience of homelessness, best known for The Grass is Always Grindr; Manish Gandhi (Charlie) a TV and Theatre actor with credits ranging from Hallelujah at Bridge Theatre to BBC’s Silent Witness; and James Haymer (Alf), an in demand associate artist of Hampstead Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre, Roundhouse and Cardboard Citizens.

Brought together under one temporary roof, running head on into threats of violence, sexual exploitation and mental health problems, Tristan, Charlie and Alf represent a notoriously vulnerable segment of the population.

But they are just one pocket of the invisible homeless. How long can they battle against the system? No Sweat is an examination of friendship, family and the fight for recognition. 

The team is also running a Paying it Forward scheme, to which you can donate here.