Olivia Zerphy is a director, actor, and producer who specializes in devised physical and object theater. They are part of the Voloz Collective, who do amazing physical theatre likely to delight STARBURST readers. We caught up with them to find out more about their latest show, Redacted: The Cover-Up Of A Cover-Up Of A Cover-Up.
Introduce yourself please.
We’re Voloz Collective, an international ensemble making original physical theatre inspired by cinema. We all trained at École Jacques Lecoq in Paris, and we create our shows collaboratively from scratch, blending movement, live music, clowning and theatrical illusion. We love making ambitious stories with a healthy dose of chaos and a lot of heart.
How would you pitch REDACTED to a fan of The X-Files?
If you love The X-Files, you’ll recognise the world immediately: government cover-ups, mysterious disappearances, UFO sightings and people desperately trying to uncover the truth. But instead of investigating one conspiracy, we dig into the very nature of conspiracy and ask what would happen if every conspiracy were actually linked. It’s comedic, cinematic and a little unhinged- in the best possible way.
And how would you pitch it to someone who loves clowning but doesn’t know sci-fi?
At its heart, REDACTED isn’t really about aliens, it’s about people. It’s about obsession, hope, fear and our need to make sense of the unknown. The sci-fi is the setting, but the engine of the show is physical comedy, clowning, live music and an ensemble constantly getting themselves into impossible situations.
We loved The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much. How different is this show?
Thank you! The two shows definitely share the same theatrical language- they’re both highly physical, fast-paced, cinematic and created collaboratively, but they feel very different in content and tone.
The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much is rooted in Hitchcock and classic spy thrillers, whereas REDACTED draws on science fiction, conspiracy culture and contemporary anxieties about truth, misinformation and who gets to shape the stories we believe. It’s a darker piece in places, but it’s also packed with the same playfulness, visual invention and live music that audiences have come to expect from us.
Who is your favourite conspiracy theory / wacky modern myth?
The birds-aren’t-real conspiracy is hard to beat. It’s completely absurd, but the fact that it’s a conspiracy theory satirising conspiracy theories is what makes it so brilliant. It’s wonderfully meta and definitely feels like something that could wander into a Voloz show.
What is the hardest part of the show?
Keeping up with each other.
Our shows rely on incredibly precise ensemble timing, but they also need to feel spontaneous. Every cue is live, every transformation happens in front of the audience, and everyone is constantly switching between being characters, becoming spaces, doing live sound effects, and object manipulation.
Why are we so fascinated with Roswell to this day?
I also think Roswell taps into something much bigger than UFOs. It’s about wanting there to be more out there than we currently understand and wondering whether the people in charge are telling us the whole story. Whether or not Aliens are real, the human impulses behind this conspiracy (and most) are very real.
Why the Edinburgh Fringe?
There’s nowhere else quite like it. You get to perform every day, meet audiences from all over the world, discover extraordinary artists and completely immerse yourself in theatre for a month.
For us, it’s also where our shows really become themselves. A month of performances teaches you things no rehearsal process ever could.
What was your inspiration for the show?
It started with Roswell and the mythology surrounding UFOs, but the more we researched, the less interested we became in sticking with the actual facts (or alleged facts) of Roswell.
We became fascinated by why people tell these stories in the first place. Why do we create myths? Why do conspiracies flourish? Why do we keep searching for meaning in things we can’t explain?
The result is a show that’s as interested in human imagination as it is in extraterrestrials. Where else can we see you?
After Edinburgh we’ll be touring REDACTED around the UK in spring 2027, alongside other touring of our previous show THE MAN WHO THOUGHT HE KNEW TOO MUCH (which will also be at the fringe this summer- 10:40am in Pleasance Forth!). The best place to keep up with us is through Voloz Collective’s website, social channels, and mailing list!
Aliens or Vampires?
Aliens without a doubt.
Dance or Song?
Dance! We love to move!
Truth or Beauty?
Beauty. We all have our own relationship with beauty – it can be personal, subjective and constantly changing. But truth is different. The moment we decide that truth is whatever we want it to be, things start to get really complicated. (if you want to see just how complicated, come see REDACTED).
