VAULT Festival in February and March ‘won’t be going ahead’

Next year’s VAULT festival will not go ahead in the early spring.

The programme, which is normally comprised of over 600 shows in total, straddles the fields of theatre, comedy, immersive experiences, cabaret, live performance, and late-night events.

The festival lost its long-term home underneath Waterloo railway station earlier this year. They remain optimistic that a 2024 festival may take place later next year.

The orgnanisation said in a statement: “We’re aware that a huge community of artists are eagerly awaiting news on the opening of applications for VAULT Festival 2024. We’ve been holding out as long as we can, but it’s time to get real with you. VAULT Festival in February and March 2024 won’t be going ahead.

“We’re still searching for our new home and whilst we are (hopefully) getting closer to that, we’re now at a point where the timeline for a VAULT Festival in February and March is unfeasible. We really wanted to bring you better news, and we’re aware that the loss of VAULT Festival again will have a huge impact on the development and trajectory of new work and early career artists, but right now, we just don’t have the space or time to make it happen.”

That doesn’t mean that there won’t be some semblance of VAULT early next year, as the organisation continued: “Currently, and this comes with the caveat of a number of things, we intend to deliver a special edition of our work-in-progress festival, A Pinch of VAULT in the usual February and March VAULT Festival period, which will take place at The Glitch and additional venues in the Waterloo and South Bank area. It’s our hope that this edition of A Pinch of VAULT will be somewhat expanded, with opportunities for larger work-in-progress shows and different types of work.

“Following this, and if all goes well with our venue search, we’re hoping to deliver VAULT Festival 2024 in Autumn next year, with applications opening in early 2024. More information on this will be forthcoming.”