VEYIL is a modern myth set in a time where our ability to “see beauty” has been stripped away by Powers Above. We humans got a little too vain… But a Girl stumbles upon a breadcrumb left by a Mischievous Being promising to restore that sight… for a price.
Veyil uses well known myths, religion and folklore to dive into a fantastical story crawling through our obsession with beauty and its ridiculous/dark side. The normal stuff.
We caught up with Adeola to discover more about VEYIL ahead of Peckham Fringe where the show runs from 6th until 8th June 2024.
What can you tell me about your show?
VEYIL is a modern myth using beauty to explore the conflicting stories that craft our beliefs. Set in a world where the ability to see beauty has been withdrawn, a girl discovers the opportunity to restore her sight, for a price.
I first shared a 15 minute version of VEYIL at ‘An Ode To’, an event held by Initiative.dkf at Rich Mix in London. They commissioned 10 artists to creatively respond to a series of short films created by artistic director of Initiative, DK Fashola, and I was given a still from ‘bump.’, a film that plays with seduction and haunting, along with the sentence “like sweet poison, this reflection is alluring” as stimuli. This quickly led me down the path of beauty and what it means to see yourself, and after reading ‘A Picture of Dorian Grey’, I became obsessed with the idea of being able see yourself for the first time, like a baby, but as an adult, and how that might be an incredible moment of appreciation and discovery if you have no knowledge of what the world beauty says it should look like!
I also play with the idea of stories - conflicting stories, the stories that make up our beliefs, how they break down, and where to collect new ones, which is very much influenced by my relationship with religion and I think has become the true bedrock of the piece (for now!).
As the first life of my first solo show - writing, performing, self directing (eep), writing music, producing (double eep) it has been a massive learning curve juggling all the moving parts and making the space to creatively experiment. I enjoy devising, but I chose to take a more writerly approach to create a spine for the piece before taking it into the rehearsal room and shaving off the bits that could be told through movement or song. I wanted every scene to shift in form, in the mode of story-telling, because it is about stories shifting and I’d like the audience to hopefully feel that at each turn!
If you were a biscuit, what would you be and why?
The chocolate ring fox’s biscuit because it’s more chocolate than biscuit which is very exciting - more exciting than just eating a normal chocolate because it is so unexpected.
The chocolate ring fox’s biscuit because it’s more chocolate than biscuit which is very exciting - more exciting than just eating a normal chocolate because it is so unexpected.
What keeps you inspired?
Watching fringe theatre; working with young people; doing CrossFit; watching CrossFit documentaries; going on holiday to hot places OR places where I can see mountains and rivers at the same time - a sure way to make me weep.
Watching fringe theatre; working with young people; doing CrossFit; watching CrossFit documentaries; going on holiday to hot places OR places where I can see mountains and rivers at the same time - a sure way to make me weep.
What do you hope an audience takes away from Peckham Fringe?
Fringe should be a place for experimentation, so I hope people think “Wow it’s so exciting to watch people try out new things!”
VEYIL runs at Theatre Peckham on Thursday 6th and Friday 7th June at 8pm and on Saturday 8th June at 4pm and 8pm. Tickets are available from https://www.theatrepeckham.co.uk/show/veyil/
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