From 3–23 November 2025, the VOILA! Theatre Festival hijacks seven London venues and turns theatre into a global reckoning. Migration, identity, war, class, and pop-culture’s ugly underbelly—everything hits the stage. Here are the sharpest, most provocative, and downright inventive shows from the line-up:
Hard-Hitting Probes of Identity & Belonging
These plays gut-punch the search for home and the fight against “normal”:
- KILL YOUR FATHER (5–7 Nov)
“Smash the patriarchy” turned into live ammunition—this show torches society’s oldest scaffolding. - Women Over 30 Don’t Matter (6–16 Nov)
A razor-sharp takedown of the misogyny that blames every doubt on hormones. - Be Gay, For God’s Sake (14–22 Nov)
God’s chaos crashes into queer secrets and family meltdowns. - NEVER JUST I (18 Nov)
A raw, playful plunge into the kaleidoscope of womanhood.
Dark Comedy & Psychological Thrillers
Absurdity goes pitch-black; laughter and dread share the same seat:
- CHEF (3 Nov)
“This isn’t food for thought—this is a meal that burns the house down.” - The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin (6–8 Nov)
Celebrity culture vomits all over the stage. - Sorry for your loss (BUT NOT REALLY) (22–23 Nov)
Truth only shows up to funerals—and brings jokes. - Working Class Hero (19–22 Nov)
Britain’s class obsession, skewered absurd-style. - L’Indiscipline (14–15 Nov)
Opens with “Last night I killed a woman over soup!”—then keeps pushing.
War, Migration & Buried Histories
Global traumas, paid in flesh and memory:
- Diaries of War (4–5 Nov)
Real lives behind the enemy headlines. - Absent (4–5 Nov)
Bombs, bees, love, betrayal—Baghdad, 1990s. - Hecuba: Why Am I In Your Country? (12–13 Nov)
Ancient grief meets modern exile. - Comfort (8–9 Nov)
The forgotten “comfort women” of WWII Philippines speak—at last.
Experimental & Mind-Bending Trips
- The First Human and the Last Life (8–23 Nov)
A reborn human taught to feel—by a machine. - Facility 111: A Government Experiment (10–12 Nov)
A surreal audio thriller performed in total darkness. - Plastic and Chicken Bones (13–16 Nov)
Dystopian sci-fi that actually thrills. - CODACHROME (8 Nov)
A live-DJ party built on razor-edge topics.
Apartment 26 Note
VOILA! rounds up London’s newest, nerviest, most political theatre. Come ready to question, cackle, and confront. Seven venues—The Cockpit, Barons Court Theatre, Theatre Deli and more—host the revolution.
I cherry-picked the 20 most electrifying shows from the full 106. Grab the complete programme on the festival site and draw your own battle-map.
