Voila! Theatre Festival is London’s panlingual festival that celebrates emerging artists from all different backgrounds and cultures. The festival runs across eight
London venues until 23rd November. I have caught up with Rasa Niurkaitė and Rosa
French ahead of their play The Lift which will be performing at The Cockpit on 5th November, 7:00pm.
Is the Voila Theatre Festival your production’s debut performance?
ROSA: Is it your debut – yes! Voila will be the first time we perform THE LIFT and we’re really looking forward to it! It’s going to be the 3rd time we’re a part of this wonderful festival and we’re really happy to be back.
RASA: Our Voila! debut was an adaptation of this mad absurdist Polish play about the right and the left shoe of Magda Goebbels. This time we’re back with an original play. Not much less mad though.
Where do you draw your inspiration from as a creative?
ROSA: We are both huge fans of David Lynch. That mix of absurdity, humour, and humanity – no one does it quite like him. His work is also so visual, which we really like to bring into our plays by featuring elements of projection and great lighting design.
RASA: We are inspired by the grey areas of the human condition. We want to understand this whole life thing ourselves and hopefully showcase the important hidden stories in the process.
Are you planning on taking your production to another industry festival in the future?
ROSA: Never say never… We’d love the opportunity to do THE LIFT again. I’m sure people can connect with the feelings of frustration that can come with doing a production only once – all of that work done by the cast, composers, and us, to only be on stage for one night… so, we definitely want to bring it back.
RASA: New writing is in a very difficult position at the moment, but our goal is to have a full run of this play in the future. The play is asking quite fundamental questions about life and tries to remind us about our power. And we need that right now, so yeah, I would like for it to have another life post-Voila.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
ROSA: We were really delighted to have the opportunity to take our play, A LESSON, to New York. We performed several shows as a part of the inaugural season of Brooklyn Art Haus. It was a great chance to travel, explore the big apple, and meet creatives in a completely different part of the world.
RASA: Yes, A LESSON is also our first original play. And it was wonderful to see that it’s humour also worked overseas.
What is your least favourite part of the Theatre industry?
RASA: The lack of funding. I’ve just watched two European theatre productions at the Barbican and I was like… I wish we would have this time and money. The things we would do…
What’s your favourite part of the Theatre industry?
RASA: Creating art is becoming an increasingly radical act. Storytelling and community building is going against the fear mongering tactics of the powers that be. Theatre can be a very powerful place and the industry can be very uplifting.
Do you have rituals that you do before each performance?
ROSA: The ability to adapt and be ready in a very short period of time has been really important for us! Of course, if there’s the time and space to do a 40 min company warm up that’s absolutely lovely. However, a lot of the time, fringe theatre means you’re doing the get in, setting the lights, putting out the props, and all kinds of other things right before the show. I’ve got my pre show ritual down to 3 deep breaths and a single spine roll…
RASA: I am usually busy doing a manic tech trying to cram an overambitious lighting plot in a few short hours. Happy to report I always finish with a few minutes to spare, but not enough time to execute a ritual. Does trying to seem like I’m not falling apart count?
The Lift will be performing as part of Voila! Theatre Festival at The Cockpit on 5th November, 7:00pm. For more information about the show and to purchase tickets please use the link below.
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
Leave a comment