HÔLY-PÔLY by Holy Smokes

Join Holy Smokes as they blast through time and space, coasting through the Wild West, leaping into the Middle Ages, and riding off into a post-apocalyptic sunset. Playfully fusing slick physical theatre with magic, drag, cabaret and DIY eleganza – tonight will be a journey like no other.

HÔLY-PÔLY is a clown show and tragicomedy about camaraderie and the whims of sisterhood. In their latest spectacle, Holy Smokes hold up a mirror to the most intimate of relationships and ask: What is a sister? A partner in crime; a fearsome rival; an underling who is always at your beck and call? All of this. And much, much more.

Buckle in and set sail on this surreal voyage with two first-rate idiots at the helm.

Woman in the Attic by Paulina Krzeczkowska

The piece, inspired by the romantic topos of the mad woman, explores gender and the place of femininity in the social and literary contexts. Influenced by the characters of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Antoinette from Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea and of Bertha from Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, it tells a story of a Polish woman, her experiences of female agency, and her desire for self-determination.

Woman in the Attic starts with a ‘traditional’ narrative structure, where the text frames the discourse, only to let it unravel into a visceral journey of self-discovery.

Employing spoken word, singing, and choreographed physical actions, Krzeczkowska presents an unsettling and at times comical image of femininity.

Sub Titles Over by Mad, Who?

First of October 2017. Three am. A knock on the door. Everyone is holding their breath inside their sleeping bag, crammed in this boiling hot polling station. Just hours away from the referendum for Catalan independence, deemed illegal by the Spanish government, two young anti-fascist activists hold hands in the dark, waiting for the Spanish police to arrive…

‘ – ¡Vamos a quemar esto con todos vosotros dentro!’

Did you hear that? Just a friendly cop nudging them to wake up…

A one-woman-show exploring subtitles’ power and their hidden potential for control and manipulation within monolingual communities.

Stampin’ in the Graveyard by Elisabeth Gunawan & Saksi Bisou

“This is a dispatch from the last theatre still open on this earth: your imagination.”

Rose is an AI chatbot that gives advice for the end of the world, powered by a black box of memories from people whose worlds have already ended. Tonight, Rose unfolds the archives she has salvaged (and fabricates a few in true AI fashion), to learn about the woman who created her.

STAMPIN’ IN THE GRAVEYARD is an immersive headphone experience that fuses poetry, live music and movement to draw the audience into this ephemeral apocalyptic world.

μεταδραματικό / postdramatic by Thekla Gaiti & Experimenta Art

An urban swimmer is looking for the sea | a woman is looking for her identity in a fragmented, absurd and ridiculous world

35 small acts capture fragments of reality in an relentless stage zapping

A heartfelt tribute to the Incomplete

A bizzare mosaic theatrical experience

A postdramatic theatre solo performance dedicated to those who don’t know what they are looking for and where to find it

The Monument by Margot Przymierska

Meet Bogdan – a builder and a hard worker involved in a mysterious construction project. Following a typical migrant path, he’s focused on earning money and imagining the future ahead.

So far it’s not looking great. Caught in a work-sleep routine, Bogdan is desperately looking for real love and connection on the dating apps, interrupted by a barrage of bad news from the wider world. He begins to question the aim of his hard work.

Bogdan’s life is juxtaposed with the tragi-comic true story of Otakar Švec – a sculptor behind the largest monument of Stalin in Czechoslovakia.

’74 by Chrisanthi Livadiotis

“First one to reach home wins?”

London, 1974. Pedro, a young Portuguese immigrant, crosses paths with Maria, a young woman from Cyprus, as her homeland faces the turmoil of invasion. Together, they confront personal choices during the profound changes sweeping their respective countries.

‘74 captures a pivotal moment in history, exploring the intersection of two lives against a backdrop of political upheaval and transformation. Marking the 50th anniversary of the Turkish occupation of Cyprus and the Carnation Revolution in Portugal, the play reflects on events that forever changed the histories of these two countries.

Uproar by Rieckhof/Silva

Uproar is an interdisciplinary solo performance exploring the right to protest and the power of collective action. A journey from injustice to hope, powered by unity. Blending rebellious dance, unique sonorous costumes, and archival audiovisuals, it honours the Latin American tradition of using music and dance as political expression.

Created in response to the deaths of 50 civilians in Peru (2022-2023), Uproar sheds light on Peru’s ongoing crisis—rooted in unresolved colonial issues like discrimination, racism, and classism. This original project by Latin American immigrant artist women in the UK aims to inspire social justice, and present new strategies for cohesion and resilience through art.

KATABASIS by Nefeli Kentoni

A Body blasts a Mountain. A Woman cries in a desert. The last two Survivors fight for a place in history. A Memory is begging the audience to not forget her. Bodies on stage try to tidy up the world. And amid these scenes, a procession led by the Psychopomp descend into the five rivers of Hades.

Katabasis is a theatrical performance, a meditation on human transience. It depicts a world that endlessly collapses and endlessly erects. A world in which characters and audience alike, are not prepared to respond to the remains, to the histories, to the new world, saying goodbye to the old. Inspired by the Cypriot topographical and political landscape, the piece explores the paradox between tenderness and violence, remembering and forgetting.

I Didn’t Know I Was Polish by Kaitlyn Kelly

Lights up on Kaitlyn, a Canadian expat at a crossroads. After two years of savouring Parisian streets on a youth visa, her time in France is running out. Her parents want her to return home, but Kaitlyn’s heart is firmly anchored in the French capital.

Desperate, she consults an immigration lawyer and receives disheartening news. However, a chance call with her sister reveals a surprising family twist: Kaitlyn learns that her Ukrainian grandfather, born amidst the shifting borders of early 20th-century Eastern Europe, was technically Polish. A revelation that could hold the key to a coveted European passport.

That Boy Has No Shoes by Lara van Huyssteen

On four illuminated plinths appear an axe, an eviction notice, a passbook, and a camera who each take their turn with the microphone. Onstage, they become the repositories for the Apartheid struggle and tell stories of who they saw, what they did and where they were left behind. Lara silently works in the background and facilitates the space.

Intermixing folksong with narrative storytelling, this poignant production highlights riots, forced removals and protests that shaped the cultural and economic landscapes of democratic South Africa.