The Free Association Has Announced Star Guests for VAULT FESTIVAL 2020

The Free Association has announced a star line-up of guests for their run of hit-shows at the VAULT Festival 2020. Running from 4 February - 16 February, this is the first time the Free Association will present a series of the most exciting improvised comedy shows in London.

The names joining The Free Association at VAULT Festival include:

• Gina Martin (campaigner who changed the law to make up-skirting illegal) joins SORRY on 6th
February.
• Amelia Dimoldenberg (Founder and CEO of 'Chicken Shop Date', a one-of-a-kind dating show
with over 340,000 YouTube subscribers) will join Jacuzii on 7th February.
• Ken Cheng (star of BBC Radio 4's 'Chinese Comedian' series) will join Minority Report on 11th
February.
• Rose Matafeo (winner of best show at Edinburgh Fringe 2019 for 'Horndog') joins SORRY on 14th
February.
• Max and Ivan (comedy duo and creators of smash-hit BBC Radio 4 sitcom 'The Casebook of Max &
Ivan') join RAD Party on 13th February.
• Georgina Campbell (most recently appeared in 'His Dark Materials' on BBC, and winner of BAFTA
Best Actress 2015 for 'Murdered by my Boyfriend') joins Jacuzii on 15th February.
• Mae Martin (Netflix stand-up special in 'Comedians of the World', writer of 'Calm Down? A guide
to 21st Century Sexuality', and co-writer and star of 'Feel Good' coming soon to Netflix and
Channel 4) joins Rad Party on 15th February.
• Tom Neenan (BAFTA nominee and writer of BBC's The Mash Report, star of BBC Radio 4s The
Hautening) also joins Rad Party on 15th February.

Co-founder of the Free Association, Graham Dickson, said: "It's amazing to be showcasing such a huge range of our work at one of the largest curated arts festivals in the world. It shows how far the Free Association has come - and how far improv has come in this country. It's fantastic to be presenting work developed by and including so many performers we have trained in our school. We hope you enjoy our made-up shows!"

All the performers in the takeover at VAULT Festival have been trained by the Free Association. Notable cast members performing in the run include: Graham Dickson (Austentatious), Naomi Petersen (Drifters; Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present), Liz Kingsman (Borderline, C5; Timewasters, ITV), Chris Gau (writer Borderline, C5), Alison Thea-Skot (Soho Theatre), Charlie Kemp (Emmerdale, ITV), Mariam Haque (Flowers, C4), Jack Barry (Soho Theatre; Netflix), Jim Archer (director, Young Offenders, BBC), Kayleigh Llewelyn (BAFTA-winning writer In My Skin, BBC Three).

On 4 February, LGBTQFA brings together the Free Association's best queer performers: Luke Healy, Chloe Godman, James Barr, Doug Crossley, Ruairi McInerney, Liz Guterbock, and Rob Sladden. Featuring a queer guest performer and a whole host of hilarious improvisation (naturally).

On 5, 7, and 13 February, The Badge: An Improvised Cop Show is the Free Association's riotously funny all-star cop show. For anyone who has ever watched a cop show, this fully improvised parody features some of the most experienced improvisers in the UK, including Graham Dickson, Naomi Petersen, Shaun Lowthian, Chris Gau, Ian Thomas Day, Freya Slipper and Vic Barry.

On 5, 8, and 12 February, I'm Not Here To Make Friends is a new improvised reality TV show. Based on audience suggestions, the cast of some of the UK's top improv comedians will lead the audience through a juicy, uproarious and totally improvised reality TV show. The cast includes Alison Thea-Skot, Jack Barry, Charlie Kemp, and Lorna Shaw.

On the 6, 12, and 14 February, The Nearly News Show will bring comprehensive coverage and hilarious in-depth analysis of the real stories behind today's headlines, as selected by the studio audience. Presented as a live-news programme, and of course fully improvised, this show will be much less bleak than the real thing. The cast of top improv talent includes Jonathan Broke, Mariam Haque, Max Dickins, and Lola-Rose Maxwell.

On the 6, 13, and 14 February, SORRY are a long-form improv group from comedians Liz Kingsman, Alison Thea-Skot, Naomi Petersen, Sophia Broido and Lola-Rose Maxwell. Inspiring the show, a special guest will join the group for a chat at the top of each performance (previous guests include Phil Wang, Mae Martin, and Jason Mantzoukas). Described by Cariad Lloyd as, 'an incredible group of talented, ground-breaking improvisers, one of the most exciting groups in London', the SORRY cast's credits include Borderline, Drifters, Timewasters, The Literary Adventures of Mr Brown, Newsjack, Power Monkeys, and performances across the UK and the West End.

From 7 - 15 February, Jacuzii is a critically-acclaimed show with an all-star group of improvisers, joined by a very special guest 'monologist'. Inspired by a one-word suggestion from the audience, the guest 'monologist' will tell true stories from their real life; sometimes dark, sometimes racy, usually weird, but always real. Based on these monologues, the cast create completely improvised scenes and sketches for an hour of fast-paced comedy. Previous 'monologists' include Nish Kumar, Aisling Bea, Lolly Adefope, and Iain Stirling.

On 9 February, Starry Starry Eyes gives singing talent shows a comedy makeover. With improvisers pretending to be contestants, pretending to be celebrities, singing songs no one has heard of. This show is delightfully delivered by a cast of top comedy talent and is, once again, based on audience suggestions.

On 11 February, Minority Report brings a group of exclusively BAME improvisers and a special guest comedian together for an hour of uproarious comedy. The cast comprise Ishan Ganjoor, Ambika Mod, Amille Jampa Ngoen, Hari Kanth, Jed Kass, Fahad Bandar, Jamal Khadar and Kiran Benawra.

On 13 and 15 February, RAD Party does what it says on the tin. The Free Association will bring free booze and VIP's with free time to an improvised comedy show. Every show is different and inspired by the audience's wildest and weirdest party stories. Previous special guests have included Mae Martin, Steen Raskopoulos, Phil Wang, and Tom Neenan.

On 16 February, Important Art is the show that seeks to unearth lost cultural treasures and works of performance art, and restore them to you, the grateful public. Would you like to see deleted scenes from the vaults of Martin Scorsese or forgotten plays from Tennessee Williams? Extracts from Virgina Woolf's diary, with a dash of ballet? Anything goes in this buffet of made-up cultural curios. Three special guest acts will improvise these hilarious never-before-or-ever-again-seen artefacts, presented with aplomb by Important Art Host, Graham Dickson.

The Free Association are offering a ticket deal over the VAULT Festival with 2 shows for £15, and 3 shows for £20 (plus booking fees) on any night of the festival.

To post a comment, you must register and login.