Like many of my creative friends, working in pubs alongside my theatre career was a given. I did overall enjoy it, even if at times it was tiring and difficult to juggle the late nights and early rehearsal starts. I loved working with people from different backgrounds and countries - the English banker who didn’t want to bank anymore, a young Hungarian looking to conquer the world, a Norwegian nurse topping up the meagre salary whilst in training. A camaraderie developed over spilt sticky baby Guinnesses and carrying plates so hot, your fingertips melted - friends for life. 

There is a special feeling when you walk through a pub door, soak in the atmosphere, the noises and scents. You get to know the regulars (often weird, in a nice way), the raucous crowd (teachers and nurses) and the boring ones (famous people). Recently, in my local pub, two people on the table next to me were considering the differences between Pale Ale and India Pale Ale - switching between English and Turkish, in that fun and easily achieved criss-cross of languages that anyone who is bi- or trilingual knows too well. Then the Lithuanian bar staff chipped in (I know he is Lithuanian because we had a chat about our accents another day) and the whole pub got a lesson of the history of Pale Ales. Local pubs are a great mirror of the communities and area around them, especially in London where so many different people come together. A welcoming space to share with each other. They remain a place where people from very various walks of life meet, sit for a while and watch the world go by or discuss life. And Pale Ales. 

History tells us that famous playwrights honed their craft at raucous pub nights, they found a willing audience between pints and pies. You could say that pubs were the first fringe venues, adapted from their original purpose, ready to become incubators for emerging artists. All the world’s a stage and all that. To this day, the UK fringe theatre scene remains unique, a place for theatrical seeds to grow, ideas to evolve and artists to take first steps towards a big show. Pub theatres play a crucial role in the early development of shows and artists - whether this is providing a springboard for their work or subsidising their income from pouring pints behind the bars.

As co-director of Voila! Theatre Festival, an annual London festival celebrating migrant artists and multilingual performance, we’re proud that half of the participating venues at Voila! this year are above or below pubs - The Etcetera in Camden (above the Oxford Arms), Barons Court Theatre (below the Curtains Up Pub), the Canal Cafe Theatre (above the Bridge House Pub) and Upstairs at the Gatehouse (you can guess). Many Fringe theatre venues have interesting pasts, having adapted and transformed into the performance spaces they are today. The remaining other four venues in the festival range from former Missionary Halls (Theatro Technis), converted Presbyterian Churches (The Space), Bus Garages (The Playground) to one purpose built theatre - the Cockpit, which is the first purpose built theatre- in- the- round after the great fire of 1666. 

This spirit of transformation, adaptation and the sense of adventure and opportunity of our venues aligns strongly with the ethos of our festival. We focus on work made by migrant artists and champion shows that use multiple languages or accents - over 60 in this year’s festival, ranging from Bulgarian to Cantonese via Hungarian to Igbo. The majority of shows are accessible to English speakers, with either English being used as a base language or surtitles where translation might be necessary, so no one feels left out. We strive for the festival to be a welcoming space, for audiences and artists alike. For artists, who might otherwise not find a platform for their work, we want to be a safe space to tell their stories, in their own words, their own language, their own accent. For audiences, we want to hold a space to see themselves, meet and connect. With each other, the artists, the show and maybe learn something new. 

At Voila! we truly believe that theatre, especially fringe theatre with its intimate and immediate atmosphere, is a great way to connect people. To combat prejudice and division by sharing stories and moments in the here and now. A London Pub is a great space for a Voila show - the quintessential English tradition combined with the many influences that make London the cosmopolitan city it is. Where the local community mixes with the theatre crowd, culminating in a wonderful chaos of accents and different languages. Sometimes this feels almost like the prologue of what we might see on the stage above or below - Prost! 

For tickets and more information about Voila! Theatre Festival, which opens on 2^nd November 2026, please visit: https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/