Open call for 2020 VAULT Festival

VAULT, London's "biggest, boldest, and wildest arts and entertainment festival", has announced that it has opened applications for its 2020 programme.

Organisers say: "The festival will return to London for an eighth year in January 2020, with eight electrifying weeks of theatre, comedy, immersive experiences, cabaret, pop-up venues and late night parties.

"Since its inception VAULT Festival has been committed to offering artists a supportive and inclusive environment, showcasing bold and original work to an engaged audience. VAULT Festival 2019 featured more than 420 productions from 2,000+ artists in eighteen venues throughout Waterloo, and welcomed over 79,000 people through its doors."

VAULT is a curated festival that welcomes applications from artists and companies of all backgrounds and experience, and is open to both UK-based and international creatives. With no set artistic criteria, applicants are encouraged to propose entertaining shows as much as challenging work, across a range of genres and performance types.

Applicants can pick from a range of uniquely created venues to perform in, including large end-on spaces with raked seating, atmospheric tunnels, studio spaces, and site-specific pop-up venues. Capacities range from single figures up to 172 seaters, catering for most budgets and sizes of production.

VAULT Festival is the world's fastest growing curated arts festival and guarantees that all applications received are read by at least two industry professionals.

Contrary to industry norms, most artists and companies are not required to pay any upfront fees to take part in the festival. Artists also choose the financial deal that works best for their production, with any applicable financial commitments only taken after a production ends its run.

For the first time, to help make the application process as accessible as possible, artists will be able to submit part of their application to VAULT Festival via video.

Festival directors and producers Mat Burt and Andy George comment: "Over the years VAULT Festival has showcased some of the very best shows from both established and emerging artists, and at the same time has become a hotbed for brand new audience experiences that shatter the status-quo. It's vitally important to us that VAULT Festival is providing a platform for underrepresented voices and stories to be heard. Our hope is for the open call out for applications to be shared far and wide."

The Early Bird Deadline for applications to VAULT Festival 2020 is 6pm on Friday 26th July 2019. The Final Deadline for applications is 6pm on Friday 16th August 2019.

Artists and companies wishing to apply to perform at VAULT Festival 2020 should begin by reading the Application Guide

The 2020 festival will take place from Tuesday 28th January until Sunday 22nd March, excluding Saturdays.