theatre and performance maker
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9th Feb 2024
I'm thrilled to announce the spring touring dates for The Death & Life of All of Us.
After last year's prememiere at Soho Theatre, an award-winning run at Summerhall during last summer's Edinburgh Fringe Festival and an autumn season at The Lowry in Salford, we're back!
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First we'll be at the Harlow Playhouse on 7th March - TICKETS HERE
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Then we have a two-week run at Camden People's Theatre from 2nd to 13th April - TICKETS HERE
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Thanks for all the support so far. The Death & Life of All of Us is supported by Arts Council England and was seed commissioned by Camden People’s Theatre. Supported by Shoreditch Town Hall, The Lowry, Harlow Playhouse, Camden People’s Theatre, JW3, Manchester Jewish Museum, Migration Matters Festival and Hilary & Stuart Williams. Winner of the Popelei Seed Commission 2023.
8th Feb 2023
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Friends,
It’s been a minute! (Well since 2022...)
We're kicking off the year with the news that The Death & Life of All of Us is premiering at Soho Theatre, 24th - 25th February, part of the Soho Rising Festival.
As you may know, this show is about my discovery of my great aunt Marcelle when I was 19, coming into my queerness, and family secrets. Mixing documentary footage, storytelling and live music by the amazing Enrico Aurigemma, The Death & Life of All of Us is a funny (and I'm told moving) exploration of shame and embracing our imperfections.
I've been lucky to work with an incredible team including co-creating it with Yorgos Petrou whilst exploring movement with Jenni Jackson, dramaturgy with Lou Cope and lighting with Amy Daniels.
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It’s so exciting to be performing at Soho Theatre for the first time - I hope that you can join me (and say hello afterwards).
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All love,
Victor x
photo credit: Christa Holka
20th Sept 2022
Dear friends,
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I hope this email finds you well. As 2022 starts to pivot towards autumn I thought it was time for an update...
Following Arts Council funding, I am at Harlow Playhouse this week to develop my new, autobiographical show 'The Death and Life of All of Us'! Using art, music, projection and visual imagery this show is inspired by my great aunt Marcelle, a woman who changed religion, name and communities and reinvented herself, keeping a secret for a life time.
I interviewed her on tape when I was 19 in her little flat in Rome. Now, since picking up this material again I’ve started thinking of my great grandpa who was an outsider himself and my great uncle Theo, a gay man. What remains of them all since their death? How do we remember people others would rather erase?
Rehearsals have been going great with the presence of our brilliant team that includes Yorgos Petrou, Jenni Jackson, Enrico Aurigemma and Lou Cope (sneak peek below!) and I would love to invite you to the following work-in-progress performances to hear your thoughts!
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The Lowry (Manchester) - 23rd September, 3pm
For tickets to this free, informal sharing email grace@cupofambition.co.uk
JW3 (London) - 2nd October, 7:30pm
Camden People's Theatre (London) - 22nd - 23rd November, 9pm.
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I also had the pleasure to curate Global Jewish Voices earlier in the year with Global Voices Theatre at The Bush, a space dedicated to talented Jewish creatives to present more intersectional, less known Jewish stories, by writers from different continents. You can listen to the accompanying podcast that I hosted by clicking the button below
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Listen to Global Jewish Voices Podcast
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Finally, check out this The Guardian podcast 'How Bolivia’s ruthless tin baron saved thousands of Jewish refugees'. The story of Moritz Hochschild, who we now know rescued 20,000 Jews from the Nazis (read by me!).
Thank you so much for your ongoing support and I hope to see you at a sharing soon!
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7th July 2020
Hello friends, I hope you’re doing ok in these confusing and crazy times.
I have gone through all the different feels recently as many of you, but I also managed to do a bit of work on a brand-new project and explore Zoom as a way to share – more on this soon.
Last month we also got the good news that Unfamiliar was shortlisted for a Zealous Stories: Performance Prize and were so happy. Thank you and congratulations to the team! This was followed by an invitation to adapt it to an online platform, performing it from home (which makes a lot of sense). It’s happening this Thursday 9th of July at 7.30pm as part of Forest Fringe TV. Would love to hear your thoughts on this experiment. You can book it here.
I was also newly appointed by artsdepot to join the Freelance Task Force, a group of over 120 freelancers to discuss our needs, have a voice in this moment and affect the future of the sector. It’s been an interesting new process, with rich conversations and lots of imminent actions. Inspired and hopeful to join in. If you’re a freelancer and have concerns about the industry, especially if you are feel like you have less access to the sector than others (i.e. black, POC, migrant, Latinx, Arab artists and professionals), I would love to hear from you.
Wishing you a lovely summer despite all hardship.
All best,
Victor x
27th December 2019
What a year it has been! emotional and politically challenging but also so exciting, with lots of action, learning, great work and community. I’ve been busy with projects I love, so to round up this period I’d like to share some of my highlights with you:
UNFAMILIAR
It’s been wonderful to continue developing this piece with my partner, visual artist Yorgos Petrou. We explored ideas around what a family is, talked to a lot of members of queer families and discussed our hopes and dreams to become parents. We were kindly supported by Arts Council England. We had brilliant and emotionally challenging residencies at Pleasance Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre and Applecart Arts, and were selected by Brighton Dome’s The Works to show an extract of the piece at The Basement in Brighton. We also performed at Fertility Fest’s Scratch Night at Barbican Centre. And we premiered the show at the opening night of CASA Festival at Arcola Theatre, where we had a lovely run, including a q&a with writer/activist Matthew Todd. We were so excited to be nominated for the LUKAS Awards for Theatrical Production of the Year and me as Performing Artist of the Year. We showed again at Papaya Fest at Bristol’s The Wardrobe Theatre.
WHERE TO BELONG
My solo about what makes a home, and being a Jewish-Lebanese Brazilian gay man, had a four-week run at Summerhall in August as part of the Edinburgh Fringe and Ellie Keel Productions’ Queer Season. It was incredible to meet such varied audiences, to get wonderful reviews and to be shortlisted for a SIT-UP Award. It was a very productive month with meeting lots of people. And to top it all Oberon Books printed the play text as part of the Oberon Modern Plays series, which is a first for me and it was so exciting.
WE’RE HERE!
In June I had the pleasure to curate an evening of forward looking queer performances to mark 50 years of Stonewall. This happened at the courtyard of the Battersea Arts Centre, under the stars on a beautiful evening. We had a mix of powerful, moving and personal performances from Laura Murphy, Alex Roberts, Es Morgan, OPIA Collective, Thania Acaron and an interactive installation about queer spaces by Lucy Hayhoe. And the lovely journalist and academic Ben Walters led a thought-provoking q&a.
SOME GOOD PEOPLE (Working title)
I have also continued participating in the Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab where I have been writing a play about two brothers who are extreme opposites, and their search for a place where they can co-exist and perhaps connect. It explores left/right politics, family, queer identity, prejudice, intergenerational clashes and much more. An extract of this was beautifully directed and performed by Drama Studio London at the Soho Theatre. More on this soon.
2020
Unfamiliar: Let us know if you’re in Brighton on w/c 13 Jan and you’d like to catch a sharing of Unfamiliar at The Marlborough.
Rituals: In mid-January I am starting research on rituals of letting go and I am looking for people from all backgrounds, who are not theatre performers, to join me for an afternoon to explore the themes at Shoreditch Town Hall. It should be fun and thought provoking. If you or someone you know feel like trying something different and being a part of a creative process please get in touch.
Wishing you the most beautiful year to come! Here’s hoping for a great one full of love, creativity, solidarity and connection!
All the very best,
Victor xx
Photo credit: Holly Revell