Our Humans Of Lambeth series celebrates the individuals behind the Lambeth Fringe Festival. In the third part of our series we meet Oli Savage from The Glitch to talk about the importance of fringe theatre, The Glitch Award and all things Lambeth...
“I think it’s more important than ever that artists have a space where they can throw spaghetti at the wall – see what works and learn from the process without feeling like they have to have everything figured out. That was a big part of the Vault festival’s ethos and it’s something I really want to carry forwards. Especially now spaces like this just feel like they’re getting harder and harder to find.
“The Glitch actually came out of the end of the Vault Festival. When Vault closed, we just wanted to keep some of that spirit, energy and openness going. I love being based in Lambeth. There’s so much going on here creatively – from here at the old Vault Festival tunnels near Waterloo, all the way down through to Brixton. It’s not just the number of theatres or artists though - it’s the way people work together. The council, the BIDs, the venues, the organisations. There just seems like a sense that people want each other to do well. It doesn’t feel competitive in the way some arts scenes can; it feels more collaborative instead. And given how much work is being made in this borough, it makes total sense that there’s now a Fringe Festival to bring some of that together.
“I’m so excited that the Glitch is part of the Lambeth Fringe again this year. I think we’ve got about 40 performances planned during the festival, and it’s nice to feel part of a wider programme. There’s just feels like a good energy to it.
“One thing we’re looking forward to is The Glitch Award. We’ll be watching shows across the Fringe and picking one to offer a headline slot here next spring. The idea is to help someone take what they’ve done during the festival and build on it, and develop the piece further, keep working on it, maybe grow an audience. For me it’s just about making sure there are opportunities beyond the Fringe itself, especially at a time when affordable space and longer runs are getting harder to come by.”
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