Celebrating the Voices of a Multilingual City: Voila! Europe Theatre Festival’s Co-Directors on the Power of Language in Performance

Now in its 12th year, Voila! Europe Theatre Festival returns to London from 3–23 November, running across eight venues city-wide. This edition features 110 shows and events, created by approximately 470 artists, and performed in around 70 different languages. Dedicated to championing multilingual and migrant-led theatre, the festival presents a kaleidoscope of work spanning new plays in translation, physical theatre, clowning, live music, immersive audio and more. With over 250 languages spoken in London, Voila! offers a rare space where that linguistic richness takes centre stage - inviting audiences to experience stories told in many tongues and through many perspectives.

We spoke with Co-Festival Directors Katharina Reinthaller and Fae Fichtner to talk about the importance of multilingual storytelling, the challenges faced by migrant artists, and how Voila! is helping redefine what British theatre can sound like.

Hi both, why is it important to give a platform to stories told in multiple languages and what makes London the right city to do that?

Katharina: London is the most linguistically diverse city in the world; it's estimated that over 300 languages are spoken in the UK capital. This rich community of different people and backgrounds is reflected in cuisine, music, retail - but we feel that in theatre and the performing arts, this is not (yet) reflected enough. We still don’t hear a lot of accents on stage or see enough work in other languages than English. But Londoners are curious and have a sense of adventure, so we want to invite audiences and artists, English speaking and multilingual alike, to come together, share stories and experience a slice of each other's realities. Through platforming work in multiple languages, we hope to overcome barriers and stereotypes, the fear of the ‘other’ and celebrate the rich tapestry our city is made of. 

What do you hope someone experiencing Voila! for the first time will walk away thinking or feeling? 

Katharina: Voila! has always had a strong ethos of welcome that runs through everything we do. That applies to artists and audiences alike: we want them to feel welcomed! 

Fae: For some it might be the night out they’ve been planning all month for others it might be the first time they hear their native language spoken on stage in a while.

Katharina: We hope that people will walk away having discovered something unexpected, shared an encounter, that they feel inspired and enriched and above all, had an enjoyable evening at the theatre! And that they’d want to come again and see another show! 

The festival has always championed underrepresented voices. Why is that mission so central to what you do?

Katharina: Voila is a panlingual theatre festival - celebrating languages, cultures, and artists. The majority of the shows programmed are made by artists with migrant experience. Migrant artists can often face more obstacles in finding work or opportunities to platform their work, and both my Co-Festival Director Fae Fichtner and I have experienced this. The hurdles we face can be financial or because of a language barrier or that certain skills or qualifications are not recognised in the UK. At Voila! we want to elevate the work of the fantastic migrant artists, who contribute so much to the creative industries and embrace and showcase their multifaceted talents. 

London is the most linguistically diverse city in the world, with more than 250 languages spoken yet that’s rarely reflected on stage. How does Voila! help close that gap? 

Katharina: At Voila!, we often talk about the lack of accents on stage, and this also includes regional UK ones. We accept accents and sur/subtitles in a lot of other media, such as Radio, Film or Television, so we want to make a start for this becoming normal for theatre shows too. We also still hear from a lot of migrant actors that they get turned down for projects because of their accents. On the other hand, we still see a lot of ‘foreign’ characters in shows, where accents are clumsily portrayed and are therefore enhancing negative stereotyping. Which is very disappointing, when there is so much migrant talent available to cast. 

By focussing on platforming work by artists speaking multiple languages and making work that is panlingual, we want to celebrate accents and highlight the skills of migrant artists, who are so vital for the future of theatre in the UK.

This year’s festival spans eight venues across London. How does being city-wide shape the energy and sense of community around Voila!?

Katharina: Everywhere you might go at Voila! there will be a unique feel to the space and a unique artistic identity. We’re delighted to have a varied mix of theatres offering new plays in translation, physical theatre, clowning, music, live streams, works in progress, immersive audio experiences, world premieres, UK premieres of international shows, and more. We love to have that city wide festival buzz and that with seeing shows at each venue you get to also experience the surrounding community and discover for example a tiny Thai restaurant with delicious curries. 

Finally, what message do you hope the festival sends about whose voices get to be heard in British theatre today?

Katharina: As Migrant Artists, it feels we always need to shout that bit louder to get heard, to get our work seen and valued. Voila! wants to show the richness of 

transcultural and panlingual work, we want to encourage an openness and dialogue between audiences and artists alike. Theatre, in itself, is a medium of communication, - a language, and through sharing the stories and work of artists from so many different backgrounds, we believe it is an important tool to connect people.

Voila! Theatre Festival will run from 3^rd to 23^rd November across eight different London venues. For more information, tickets and to view the full brochure, visit https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/