Thick ‘n’ Fast talks General Secretary at VAULT Festival

We spoke to co-writers and performers Cassie Symes and Georgina Thomas about taking part in VAULT Festival 2023 with their show General Secretary

General Secretary
Promo Image
©The Other Richard

Tell us a bit about your show

General Secretary is a comedy about two entirely unqualified women who are suddenly summoned to take over the world. We cannot stress enough that they are the last people who should have been chosen. It’s a recipe for disaster… or is it? A show about ill – equipped leaders feels particularly apt given that we have had three prime ministers since its most recent performance in Edinburgh!

If you were actually put in charge of the world for the day, what would you do first?

Easy, we’d wrap up climate change, bring about world peace, and end poverty.

How would we do that you might ask?

Make all men in power go to therapy. What would you say is the biggest challenge with writing comedy in theatre? We come from an experimental theatre background but we certainly don’t take ourselves too seriously. Our devising process is about finding the right balance between imaginative, transcendent theatrical elements and dick jokes.

What’s your favourite line from the show?

“An arms race? I am much faster on my legs.”

What excites you most about taking part in VAULT Festival 2023?

We are thrilled VAULT is back this year after multiple cancellations. After the political circus of the past year, we hope our show will bring some joyous light relief! We’re also looking forward to getting our teeth into something new; our Work In Progress show will be a fun exploration of the cryptic world of technology and how virtual reality might collide with our own realities in the coming years. Finally, we’re delighted to be on the bill with so many great acts! Georgie is doing her own work – in – progress solo show (catch it at Vaulty Towers on the 26th Jan!) and other shows we’re dying to see include: Charlie Vero – Martin, Isabelle Farah, Tatty McLeod, Tamsyn Kelly, Louisa Keight, Sharlin Jahan, Kat Bond, Metamorph Theatre, Olga Koch and so many more!

See General Secretary at VAULT Festival 7th – 9th February, more details here . You can also find out more about their WIP: There’s No Place Like Chrome here