Jake Mace
We last caught up with Evie Demetriou ahead of her Catania OFF Fringe Festival debut of WHO CARES, her one woman dance piece exploring the role of care in both the political and personal. She is once again bringing this dichotomy to the fore in her upcoming Voila! Theatre Festival show NEVER JUST I, which explores the intricate realities of being a woman through the intertwined roles of woman, mother and daughter. We caught up with Evie for a pixelated pint ahead of her arrival in London next week.
You can catch NEVER JUST I as part of Voila! Theatre Festival in London at Theatro Technis on Tuesday 18th November from 9pm (45mins). Tickets (£12 / £10 conc.) are available through the Voila! Theatre Festival Online Box Office.
Jake: Hi Evie – Never Just I explores the intricate realities of being a woman through the intertwined roles of woman, mother and daughter – tell us about what inspired the piece and why you wanted to tell this story now.
Evie: When I became a mother again — this time raising a daughter — I came face-to-face with many of the same fears and questions I’ve encountered before. NEVER JUST I grew from that experience, exploring the pressures women face in all aspects of life: gender-based violence, systemic inequality, societal expectations, and the ongoing weight of patriarchy. I kept asking myself: where does the pressure to be ‘perfect’ come from, and how does it shape who we are?”
To explore this in performance, I began reading, improvising and writing: notes, thoughts, letters to loved ones, to uncover what urgently needed to be expressed. The piece unfolds through movement, humour, play and physicality, while exploring memory, beauty, relationships, guilt and love.
It felt important to tell this story now because these questions affect women everywhere. Performance allowed me to make them visible, tangible and relatable, whether you’re a mother, a daughter, a son, a partner, a woman navigating life.
Jake: “How did you approach the creative process of Never Just I, and what was it like working with your main collaborators?”
Evie: The creative process for NEVER JUST I was research based, playful, collaborative and very organic. I worked closely with Georgina Kakoudaki, Greek dance dramaturg and theatre director, whose fresh ideas about womanhood and experience with young audiences brought exciting perspectives. Together, we explored my writings, improvisations and reflections, discovering how movement, text and physicality could tell the story. From the start, we wanted to approach feminist themes with joy, playfulness and hope — not anger, but a sense that change is possible.
I also collaborated with long-term collaborators Cathryn Robson, UK-based vocal pedagogy lecturer and vocal coach, and Swiss choreographer Tabea Martin. Cathryn’s expertise in the use of voice and text brought a distinct perspective to the performance, helping the words become another expressive body on stage, alive, emotional and vulnerable. Tabea as an outside eye, supported the ideas, energy, and playfulness of the piece.
The whole process was about openness, experimentation and making space for the audience to connect with the story in their own way.
Jake: What will be the first thing the audience sees, feels, and hears as they enter the space?
Evie: Well, I come on stage and immediately ask the audience if they’re ready! Then I dive straight into a workout routine! It goes on just long enough for everyone to start wondering what’s really going on and soon they begin to understand what my role is. I can’t reveal much more though… you’ll have to see the show to find out!
Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
Evie: Never Just I creates a space where audiences can see bits of themselves. It’s a performance that invites the audience to recognise themselves, their own memories, struggles and small triumphs reflected on stage.
I hope people leave feeling that they’re not alone, that we share the same contradictions and hopes and that together we can move towards something better.
I also hope to laugh, to reflect and to see the beauty and absurdity in our everyday roles. It’s a personal piece, but it speaks to everyone who’s ever tried to balance who they are with what the world expects them to be.
Jake: With Voila Festival 2025 just around the corner, what are you most excited for?
Evie: I’m really excited to be back in London and to have the UK premiere of Never Just I. The Voila! team has been wonderful and incredibly supportive and I love how the festival gives space to artists with such strong and diverse voices. I’m looking forward to watching performances, meeting other artists and audiences, and sharing my own work — not only as an artistic expression but also as a political act, giving voice to themes that are often left unspoken.
Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Evie: Sex on the Beach, because it’s sweet, strong and slightly nostalgic. It looks carefree on the surface but underneath it’s layered with longing, rebellion and just a dash of chaos, like life!
A reminder, you can catch NEVER JUST I as part of Voila! Theatre Festival in London at Theatro Technis on Tuesday 18th November from 9pm (45mins). Tickets (£12 / £10 conc.) are available through the Voila! Theatre Festival Online Box Office.
Lamesha Ruddock
Jasmine Silk
