Vibing in the Void — A Weekend at Voidspace Live 2025

By Shelley Snyder, London & UK Curator & Thomas Jancis, London Reviewer

Publisher’s Note: The following dialogue between Shelley and Thomas does not constitute a review of the event, not least of which because Thomas actually performed in the festival. Yet such is the state of performing arts coverage around the globe that our team members are often the ones pulling double duty in their communities. So let this be more of a travelogue, if you will, for those of you who couldn’t be in London for Voidspace — which drew quite a few other members of the NoPro community — and who want to keep up with what’s happening in the heart of immersive theatre’s capital city.
— Noah Nelson, Publisher

Shelley Snyder: When the market is ready, the festival will appear. So evidently riseth Voidspace Live, to (hopefully) heal the gaping hole left by the death of VAULT Festival in the London immersiverse circuit . Thomas and I spent the entirety of Saturday at the event, the long haul of 11am-7pm including three show sessions, a lunch break, and a bit of the drinks at the end.

Thomas Jancis: I was fortunate to experience Voidspace as both audience member on the Saturday and creator and performer on the Sunday.

SS: Fortunate indeed as the event sold out, with people begging entry at the door and many show sessions being slightly (but not uncomfortably) overfilled — clear evidence the festival has already outgrown its space (Theatre Deli) and it’s only the first year. (Ed. note: Second year! First, with two days, however. — NN) Sessions were allocated on a points-based ballot system with personal requests sent in advance, so each attendee was ideally sent to one of their top three choices for each session rather than being assigned into something they had less interest in. So you hit a wide range…

TJ: There were many highlights. Becoming a racoon. Being a zombie giant. Joyfully riding a boat into the afterlife. Battling the computer that hates me. Attending a disco, still wearing glow-in-the-dark makeup from my own show. There was plenty of entertainment and a lovely vibe of enjoyment and engagement over the weekend.

SS: General feedback from performers seemed to be that the demand for entry into the sessions was encouraging: always better to have people begging to get in than looking at a bunch of empty chairs, right?

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TJ: Performances at 11am on a Sunday are a challenge, especially for the Owl Prince of Hell, but my audience was willing to come, play and receive my gifts of Very Good Rocks and herbaceous seeds. It was touching how many folk came up to me afterwards to compliment my work, share their curses or show off their rock. This form of direct personal feedback is something often lost in larger festivals.

SS: Absolutely. Festivals are a critical hub in any industry: not just as a time- and money-saving tool for fans to engage with lots of instances of their interest at once but as a centralized feedback environment. Makers need to hear from fans and other makers, and fans need to engage as humans (not just as wallets) with producers so as to maybe become inspired to become producers themselves. While the Edinburgh Fringe is the Goliath of the theatre season in the UK, Voidspace provides the hyper-focused interactive/immersive practice grounds for emerging and polished work to thrive and develop. It’s a monumental task to run one, let alone build one from scratch, and Void seems to have knocked it out of the park with room to develop and evolve to meet needs as the event picks up annual momentum.

TJ: With dedicated audiences and venues for shows, performed within the same space, we crossed over in the corridors heading to the next event. Everyone who attended was, in some way, willing to play and experience the work being made. There were poignant moments where folks approached me as their ‘buddy’ when it came to the more LARP based shows and they knew I would roleplay with them in a nice, gentle, sympathetic manner.

SS: You just can’t beat the atmosphere. It felt like every single person present was sincerely thrilled to be there and eager to participate, talk, share. It always feels sandpapery-corporate to say but the networking opportunity is often one of the most rewarding aspects of an event like this — all the cool kids are there and you’re one of them.

TJ: Ultimately I had fun. Shows were varied and entertaining and the bar busy with folks catching up to share ideas and adventures. I look forward to seeing where the Void takes us next.

SS: Long may it run.

Voidspace Live 2025, the second annual festival of interactive arts in London ran on June 7th & 8th, 2025 at Theatre Deli. Tickers were £30-£55.

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