Review: REMYTHED, VAULT Festival

"Do you mind if I tell you a story?" Roann Hassani McCloskey and Joel Samuels strip it back to the basics for a show that has an updated story-by-the-campfire vibe. ReMythed zhuzhes up a series of fables, giving it a queer spin, to put what many consider "modern concepts" into perspective and combating LGBTQ+ erasure. They rejig handed-down tales from all over the world, questioning identities, challenging heteronormativity as well as "traditional values". The company are a delight.

The creators are joined by Emile Clarke, Lucy Roslyn, and Ishmael Kirby. Characters and raconteurs in the same scenes, they're effortlessly funny and look like they're actually enjoying themselves. It's infectious. They revel in their explorations of gender theory through Lilith and homosexuality via One Thousand and One Nights; they flow Anansi into a contemporary search for love tainted by racial profiling, and demonstrate how gender roles are ultimately an arbitrary construct. It's a clever little piece full of personality.

It embodies the spirit of VAULT: gorgeous storytelling by joyous performers. The cast give today's struggling non-heterosexual and non-cisgender people permission to be. It's heartwarming and fascinating to experience yarns from such different backgrounds imbued with a good dose of marvellously queer power.

At a moment in time when sexuality and identity are still not accepted in too many spaces, productions like ReMythed are ever so important.

ReMythed runs at VAULT Festival until 12 March.

VAULT Festival has been left without a venue for next year. You can contribute to the #SaveVAULT campaign here.

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