The Vault Festival 2023 is back and bigger than ever

The Vault Festival is South London’s answer to the Edinburgh Fringe, and it is back, and bigger than ever with a programme of more than 500 shows across theatre, comedy, cabaret and more, writes Molly Pavord.

After having to cancel arrangements for the last two years due to the pandemic, this year the underground festival will reopen from January 24 to March 19 in Waterloo.

Visitors have a choice of up to 40 shows each night.

Vault Festival director Andy George said: “When you enter into the space you truly disappear from London for a moment and you immerse yourself in a world full of culture and art and human beings that care about each other.”

This year will be the debut of Vault’s The Flair Ground, a venue which will become the nightlife centre of the festival, featuring weird and wonderful drag, cabaret, burlesque and circus performances.

At its core, Vault works to put its artists at the forefront of its work by empowering a range of voices to explore issues of race, queerness, feminism, climate-change and more.

George said: “I think there is a bit of a false belief in some sectors of our society that something is either good or diverse and it can’t be both. I am confident to say that we have at least 500 shows in our programme that resolutely and absolutely disprove that.”

“We have spent so much time over the last 500 years silencing people’s voices just because of their race or their gender or their sexuality and we can change that.

“I think Vault Festival has the power to change that and I think that by putting different voices onstage we can influence the world, we can share new ideas, or ideas that aren’t new but are new to the mainstream, and we can make a better world that is more inclusive.

“Ultimately, when people are included, everyone is happier.”

Ticket prices start from £6. / Website: https://vaultfestival.com/

Pictures: Vaults