With VAULT Festival’s focus on the underrepresented, it’s perhaps not a surprise that there are so many fantastic Queer shows landing at VAULT Festival this week. What makes a show Queer, I hear you ask? Well, evidently Queerness can be very much self-defined, but all of these shows tell stories of what it is like to be othered on the basis of your sexual preferences or gender identity.

Queerness is a reclamation, in this sense, and explored by shows at VAULT both in a way which seeks to explore the identity of being Othered, and also those who want to have a hell of a lot of fun with expressing who they are. Let’s see Binge Fringe’s pre-emptive picks for Queer shows at VAULT Festival Week 2.

Thirsty

Cage
31st Jan – 5th Feb
21:25, 16:40, 20:55 (60 mins)
Tickets Available Here

Thirsty takes a glance down the life of a woman in her 30s at the end of her first queer relationships, the pressures of womanhood and what it means to find yourself directionless. The show considers themes of marriage, motherhood and the pressures of being forced into a white-picket fence lifestyle, all while also exploring the central character, Sara, and her relationship to the world of kink and submission. Bound to be kaleidoscopic and refreshing, we recommend you take a look at this one and delve into Sara’s life.

Perverts

Studio
31st Jan – 5th Feb
21:25, 20:40 (60 mins)
Tickets Available Here

Coming in from a run at The Other Room in Cardiff, Perverts is the latest from Bristol-based, BAFTA Cymru-nominated writer and documentary-maker Alice McKee. The show promises to be bitingly funny, taking place in a sex club and exploring themes of internalised lesbophobia. Promising to be both thoughtful and witty, the show follows Katie as “exes, almosts and threesomes” haunt her under the neon lights of sex dungeons. Exploring themes of desire and shame, this piece undertakes a hefty task in balancing drama and humour, and promises to be a highlight of this week’s gay offerings.

Varnish

Pit
31st Jan – 5th Feb
18:30, 15:00, 18:00 (60 mins)
Tickets Available Here

One of the more high-concept shows entering the queer-sphere this week is Varnish. The show, directed by Janet Taylor, is based on a fictionalised version of the life story of its central character, Stand-Up Comedian Jonathan Mayor. We sat down with Janet a couple weeks ago to talk all about the interesting experience of fictionalising the life of a close friend. The piece sits on the intersection of emerging out of the life of a Queer Stand-Up Comedian and exploring Asian Voices in the system of adoption. The show explores ego and addiction in light of Jonathan’s adoption by white parents. Promising to be sparkly, glittery and dark, this is one to catch.

The House of Naked

The Flair Ground Lates
3rd Feb Only
22:30 (270 mins)
Tickets Available Here

Ready to dance the night away? The first of our featured ‘Flair Ground Lates’, this cabaret promises to offer up drag icons, cabaret greats and circus legends into “one queer spellbinding show”. Quite literally stripping identity of all its layers, The House of Naked invites us to liberate ourselves, bare our souls and express ourselves. No doubt to be a unique and freeing atmosphere, the cabaret performance offers up a space for expression and self-love. Get involved!

Gay Witch Sex Cult

Studio
3rd – 4th Feb
22:40, 22:10 (60 mins)
Tickets Available Here

If the title doesn’t already have you sold, I don’t know what will. We’re being offered the chance to see a show which, in no particular order, features gender reveal parties, demons from hell, and (as the title implies) a sex cult for gay witches. With a listing that evokes all the best parts of Rocky Horror, we follow couple Kaelan Trough and his unnamed husband who invite their “nearest and dearest” for an unforgettable gender reveal party for their unborn child. It’s promised that all will not be as it first seems, and that soon the trappings of the titular cult reveal themselves.

Queerdos Cabaret

The Flair Ground
29th Jan, 5th Feb & 12th Feb
20:00 (60 mins)
Tickets Available Here

Finish the week in style this coming Sunday with the ever-fabulous and ever-odd Queerdos Cabaret. No cabaret group can claim to have a better backstory than this bunch, who started performing together in the basement of a “Straight Pub” in a basement in East London – talk about reclamation! This performance promises drag, dance, burlesque, live music and more. Join in with the joyous cabaret extravaganza which promises that you won’t be disappointed by a dazzling array of artists in their prime.