An unusual piece of programming for 2024’s London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT), this non-theatrical one-night-only gathering at the City’s Dutch Church has good intentions, but winds up a little lacklustre. 2024 is a “global election year”, with an estimate of half the world’s population heading to vote. With an all-female line-up, this evening of spoken word, comedy and music guides us to think about what democracy looks like for women across the globe.

The upbeat, repetitive music and movement of African-Brazilian musical collective Baque Luar offers the high point at the opening and closing of this two-hour meeting, with a needed injection of energy and positivity. An academic speech on the role of public libraries in shaping democracy, and a poem by Lola Shoneyin on the fragile nature of democracy in West Africa, hits a bit too close to home for Brits, in a time of lowering public resources and rising fascism.

Low-key character comedy from Rosie Holt nicely skewers the self-aggrandising of the UK’s Conservative Party, to what seems like a home crowd audience of Labour voters. Stand-up from India’s Aditi Mittal seems to go down less well, but audience and comedian work together well to overcome any communication barrier. It’s certainly extraordinary to get to hear a speech by 17-year-old Fetuma Hassan, the young mayor of the Tower Hamlets borough, with a grace and intelligence that goes beyond her years.

While certainly international, it’s unclear to what extent this evening counts as “theatre” or indeed a “festival”. All the same, a liberal-leaning home crowd leaves the old church feeling a little more enlightened.

Reviewed on 8 June 2024, as part of the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT).