Voila! Festival Experience

Camden People's Theatre

After interviewing the lovely co-directors of the 'Voila! Theatre Festival', Amy Clare Tasker and Katharina Reinthaller, I decided to get involved with the Voila! Festival and see what it had to offer! If you missed the interview: CLICK HERE

The Theatre Festival ran from 4th - 20th November. It showed in a range of different venues: Applecart Arts, Camden People's Theatre, The Cockpit, Barons Court Theatre, The Playground Theatre, The Questors Theatre - Studio, The Space Theatre, Theatre Deli and Upstairs at The Gatehouse.

Voila! celebrates and brings together theatre from all over the world and is a Pan-Lingual theatre festival. As explained in the last post:

"A pan-lingual theatre festival and it celebrates artists, cultures and languages. We focus on work that uses multiple languages, international performance techniques and most of the work is made / performed by people with a migrant background. Most of the artists live in the UK, but they come from different backgrounds. There's a mix of cultures and stories that come to the festival." (Amy Clare Tasker)

During the last week of the festival; I got involved and saw a selection of the shows that played at the Camden People's theatre. The aim was to see a range of theatre and that the shows I watched were all different from each other!

Here is a brief description of the work I saw:

1. The World of Yesterday By ANYA OSTROVSKAIA -

   
   

   A show that embodied the resilience of the Jewish religion. Includes artistic and metaphorical elements that reflect the effects of a growing fascist society towards the Jewish community in Germany during the years of the two world wars. This show incorporated song, interesting production elements; such as the use of a projector and interesting use of props. This opened my eyes to a tense period of time filled with fear and control. The show itself took the audience on a trip back to the early 1900s Germany.

   The storyline followed the life of Austrian, Jewish writer 'Stefan Zwei' and how his life changed pre-war and during both wars. It explored the feeling of the fear and anxiety the Jewish community felt as the Nazi's came into power and how this affected their lives. Their were many moments of symbolism and poignant scenes.

   

   

2. The Writing of Stones by EMBALLAGE ENSEMBLE

This was a piece that was explorative and displayed 'A Museum of Your Mind'. There were many images throughout the piece, such as during a scene that is set in Paris; the cast created a number of freeze frames inspired by artworks that are on display in the 'Louvre'. The aim was to take the audience on a journey through their mind and the manipulate each member's imagination.

The piece was inspired by the French artist Roger Caillois and he was also a stone collector. A moment that reflect's his inspiration is at the very end when each cast member places a table with a beautiful, unique stone placed on the top of it. The audience examine the tables after the piece.

3. Don't Tell Dad About Diana - HANNAH POWER & CONOR MURRAY

A comedy show, set in Dublin: that includes moving moments and has a strong message about being true to who you are and not hiding behind your peers expectations. The show takes the audience back to a time just before Diana's death and reminds them of how she lived in the hearts of people all over the world. The show celebrates her most iconic moments, a pair of friends idolise her and plan to dress Connor's character up for a pagent as Diana in a recreated version of her iconic 'Revenge Dress'. The two are hiding Connor's character's love for Diana from his parents, what could go wrong?

The story follows just before her death and then after her death. Connor and Hannah's bond is brought together by their love for Diana. When she passes away their friendship comes to a crossroads, they have to decide what path they should take and how will that affect their bond. There are some moving moments and colourful scenes. The message about sexuality and acceptance is embedded in the show.

The Voila! Festival gave a range of shows an opportunity to shine, there should always be the opportunity for new shows to grow and develop. It's imperative for the theatre world to thrive and survive. It was fantastic to try new shows, learn something new and open my eyes to new forms of performance. This is what makes the Voila! Festival so strong. Long may it carry on!

Get 3rd November - 23rd November 2025 in your diaries and get involved next year with the new shows that the festival will have to offer. I'll be back next year for another celebration of a variety culture, languages and new, unique theatre!

Watch this space for more info: https://www.voilafestival.co.uk