Heaven to Earth Plus

NOW in its 15th year, Voila! has grown into one of London’s largest fringe theatre festivals, championing international artists and celebrating the languages, cultures and perspectives that shape the city.

From November 2-22, the festival presents 101 shows and events in 60 languages, created by 450 artists across eight London venues. Producers Fae Fichtner, Katharina Reinthaller and The Cockpit’s Dave Wybrow bring together artists from around the world, migrant-led companies based in the UK, Londoners from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and visitors creating work for diverse audiences.

At a time of increasingly hostile rhetoric around migration, borders and belonging, Voila! offers a different picture of what an international city can be.

Highlights include:

• Is it really your mother tongue if the words get stuck in your throat? My Mother Tongue Wants to Disown Me (above) is about a Romanian girl, Madalina, and the strained relationship with her culture and mother. What happens when she starts finding photos and letters from stories her mum never told her? In English and Romanian. Age 16+, 5pm, Nov 2-3, 9pm, Nov 4. Etcetera Theatre, NW1

• Join two Italian expats in Not So ‘Dolce Vita’ (above) for an irreverent, sensory musical journey. Packed with cinematic nostalgia, bilingual chaos, and a communal feast, this show subverts cultural clichés to redefine what it means to belong. Benvenuti – Grab a seat at our table! Age 12+, In English and Italian. 7pm, Nov 3-4. The Space, E14

• In Wind Me Up, a human music box performs a language no one has ever heard before. Through live violin, movement and audience interaction, Man Yun Ku explores communication, identity and whether understanding begins long before words are spoken. In Chinese, English and Taiwanese. Age 14+, 5.30pm, Nov 3-5. Baron’s Court Theatre ,W14

• Combining slapstick, movement and drag, Romeo Lau’s Blondie Blue Eyes (above) follows someone who so desperately desires the white ideal that she becomes a caricature of it. Will she break free of her shackles? Or will she succumb to the immovable force of ‘the norm’? In Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean. Age 16+, 7.30pm, Nov 4, 9 & 10. Canal Café Theatre, W2

• In her 20s and dating in London, Kike is juggling love, family expectations and the suspicion that everyone is getting married except her. Her mum is praying VERY hard for a husband. Blending theatre, games and audience interaction, Love vs Fear (…and My Mother’s Prayers) puts you inside Kike’s world. Rooted in the British-Nigerian experience, it explores love, family, culture and the fear of being left behind. In English and Yoruba. Age 12+ 9pm Nov 5 & 7pm Nov. The Cockpit, NW8

• Drawing on the myth of Medusa and blending physical theatre, ritual, original music, and sign language, Gorgon Syndrome (above) explores how sexual trauma settles in the body, reshapes everyday life, and survives in silence. A theatrical ritual where real women’s testimonies meet ancient myth. In English and Russian. Age 16+, 3pm, Nov 6; 5pm, Nov 6-8; 9pm, Nov 7. Etcetera Theatre, NW1

• Technology may transform the battlefield, but it does not alter human nature. Faced with constant death, people search for meaning and discover unexpected strength within themselves. Based on the lived experiences of a Ukrainian soldier, Heaven to Earth Plus, combines storytelling, music, poetry, and traditional Ukrainian folk songs. A story of courage, resilience, and the enduring roots of Ukrainian culture. In English and Ukrainian. Age 16+, 7pm, Nov 7; 5pm, Nov 14 & 21. The Space, E14

• Inspired by the legend of 40 maidens who chose death over slavery, Legend of Kaliakra explores the hidden lives of women behind one of Bulgaria’s most enduring stories. Blending poetic text and music, the production reimagines the narrative as a story of choice, dignity and freedom. In Bulgarian with English surtitles. Age 16+, 7pm, Nov 6; 9pm, Nov 7. The Cockpit, NW8

• UnShakespearean Nightmares is a fast-paced comedy where Shakespeare’s forgotten and iconic characters rebel against the Bard himself. Blending farce, parody, clowning and meta-theatre, the five-strong cast perform multiple roles in a surreal battle to rewrite destiny and reclaim their stories from their tyrannical creator. In English, all ages. 9pm Nov 7; 4.30pm, Nov 8. The Playground Theatre, W10

• Beneath Still Waters (above) is a solo performance by Swedish performer Rebecka Öberg that blends storytelling, original music, and absurd comedy, using the familiar narrative of the ugly duckling to explore themes around identity, validation and beauty ideals. In English. Age 14+, 5pm, Nov 9-10; 7pm, Nov 13. Etcetera Theatre, NW1

• The Girl is a contemporary translation and feminist adaptation of Lorca’s Yerma set against the backdrop of Margaret Thatcher’s England. It draws parallels between past and present to question the nature of society. In English and Spanish. Age 14+, 7pm, Nov 10-11, The Space, E14

• When a teenage girl vanishes in the dungeons beneath Warsaw, her sister ventures into the darkness to bring her home. Reimagining a legend known across Europe, Basilitrix: a Family Folk Rock Musical, is about sisterhood, courage, curiosity, and the search for truth. In English. All ages, 7pm, Nov 11-15. Upstairs at the Gatehouse, N6

• Three Little Pigs follows migrant construction workers whose lives intersect on a UK building site. Inspired by real interviews and lived experience, the play explores friendship, migration, masculinity and survival, revealing the people behind the labour that builds the world around us. In English and Romanian Age 16+, 7.30pm, Nov 12-14; 3pm, Nov 14. The Cockpit, NW8

• In The Swan, The Werewolf and Gianpiero (above), tango partners Roxana and Mateo break up backstage five minutes before their performance. Their argument erupts onto the stage, where Gianpiero, self-proclaimed artistic genius of a director and alleged descendant of Julius Caesar, decides to turn their disaster into his greatest masterpiece. In English, Italian, Russian and Spanish. Age 16+, 7.30pm. Nov 12 & 1. The Playground Theatre, W10

• Windows of Displacement (above), choreographed and performed by Akeim Toussaint Buck, blends dance, song and spoken word to explore personal and global narratives, ancestral memory and the increasingly urgent shifting politics surrounding the movement of people. In English and Jamaican Patois. Age 12+, 7pm, Nov 13-14. Theatro Technis, NW1

• My Ex-Lover Turkey (above), with live saxophone, is about love, leaving and belonging. In Edinburgh, an immigrant collects donations at the Royal Botanic Garden, falls in love and tries to begin again, only to find his old country still living inside him. In English and Turkish. Age14+, 3pm & 9pm, Nov 15. The Space, E14

• An intimate two-hander, Brewtopia fuses absurdism and realism. Arjun, a homeless tea connoisseur, turns a park bench into a maharaja’s palace with every sip, until an outreach worker’s gift of housing quietly strips him of the ritual that kept him whole. In English. Age 14+, 7.30pm, Nov 17-18. Upstairs at the Gatehouse, N6

• In The Literal Translation (above), performance poet, Alice d’Lumiere challenges herself to overcome her childhood inability to communicate in any language beyond English. Will she learn her aller from her avoir, or must she resort to dance? The show combines prose, verse, comedy and song with some foolhardy attempts at French. Age 16+, 3pm, Nov 19. Etcetera Theatre, NW1

• 1999 (above) is set in north Portugal. It’s summer. The walls are decaying, the air is thick, death lingers and Rafaela is ready to go. Three women bound to the same house, are governed by the matriarch. Will Rafaela remain or can she break free? In English and Portuguese. Age 12+, 7.30pm, Nov 19-22. Baron’s Court Theatre, W14

• Inspired by Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, Node Theatre’s Rhino! explores digital conformity, belonging and resistance in an increasingly polarised world. In English and Japanese. Age 14+, 7pm, Nov 20-21. In Sun Down, Vasoulla drifts between London and the Cyprus she carries in her mind: family life, festivals, traditions and buried heartbreak. Andria searches for answers, suspecting dementia, yet she is pulled into her mother’s shifting world. Their truths collide, trapping them in a limbo neither can escape. In Cypriot, English, Greek (Cypriot Dialect) Age 12+ 9pm, Nov 20-21. Theatro Technis, NW1

• From award-winning Gaulier-trained clown couple Julie Nesher and Tom Curzon, It’s Curtains (above) is an absurd visual spectacle inspired entirely by curtains. In English. Age 16+, 7.30pm, Nov 20-22.Canal Café Theatre, W2

• Voila! Theatre Festival runs from November 2-22. Full details and booking at www.voilafestival.co.uk