King’s Head Theatre announces SPRINGBOARD - a festival of opportunity for early years companies

The King’s Head Theatre have announced initial details of Springboard: a festival for shows that lost a performance slot after the cancellation of VAULT Festival, and for companies that were impacted due to the pandemic.

The Springboard festival will see some of the best early career companies from across the capital and beyond given the chance to perform their shows on the world-renowned Islington pub theatre’s stage from 29 March–23 April. Springboard will be a festival of work across genres and forms, including cabaret, drag, political and personal drama and comedy.

With 87% of shows created by, or telling the stories of LGBTQ+ people, the season reflects the King’s Head’s commitment to exploring the many diverse stories and artists that make up the LGBTQ+ community.

Shows announced so far are: The Silver Bell (“A story of love, loss and interdimensional travel”) and Fruits, Or The Decline of a Distant Memory (“A dive into the universal subconscious”) both from 29 March – 2 April; Baby Doll (“A queer love story exploring sex, trust and intimacy”) and Grey Widow (“A One Queen Comedy of Horrors”) both from 5 – 9 April; A Partnership (“We aren’t normal, Zach. So why are we trying to be?”) on 10 & 11 April; Drag Queens v Zombies (“Dead fabulous new comedy about a pandemic (not that one”) from 12–16 April; Drag Baby (“A play about family, queer friendship and giving away your sperm”) on 17 & 18 April); About 500 (“With only ‘about 500’ ovulations, it’s a woman’s race against time”) from 18–23 April; and Eating Myself (“A powerful female exploration about food, culture, body image and self-care…with a dash of South American flavour”) from 19 – 23 April. Further shows will be announced shortly.

Producer Sofi Berenger said: “Spaces like VAULT Festival, the Kings Head and London’s Fringe Theatre scene at large are crucial for artists to create new work, embark on creative ventures, and highlight new stories, by new artists, across genres, forms and disciplines. I’m delighted that my first season at King’s Head Theatre will feature a Queer-led festival facilitating just that. Our doors are open to everyone making work in every way and we’re delighted to welcome you to it too.”

Co-Artistic Director Mark Ravenhill added: “It's been a tough couple of years for young theatre makers. So it's encouraging to see so many of them coming back with new, fresh work for our King’s Head Theatre Springboard festival. It will be great also to welcome audiences back to share a range of work that's youthful, contemporary and more than a little bit queer.”

Tickets are now on sale here.