Basilitrix: Polish Folklore Comes to Life in a New Family Folk-Rock Musical

A legendary creature from Warsaw folklore is heading to London this November as Basilitrix, a new English-language family folk-rock musical, comes to Upstairs at the Gatehouse as part of Voila! Theatre Festival 2026.

Running from 11 to 15 November 2026, the musical reimagines the Polish legend of the Warsaw Basilisk – a fearsome creature said to have lived beneath the city's Old Town, whose deadly gaze could turn anyone who looked at it to stone.

In Basilitrix, a teenage girl ventures into the dungeons beneath Warsaw in search of her missing sister, where she comes face-to-face with the legendary monster. Meanwhile, her mother is fighting a different battle above ground, attempting to bring a divided community together. A mysterious Rat Squad provides commentary throughout the story, exploring how rumours spread and how stories can become history.

Combining rock, jazz and Slavic folk influences, the musical explores courage, curiosity, sisterhood and the search for truth. The production also brings a contemporary feminist perspective to the traditional legend, giving a new voice to characters and questioning stories built around fear.

Basilitrix is written and created by Ida Wrona, with music by Wrona, Michał Grodzki, Anita Zawadzka and Anna Drewniok. Kinga Pazik directs, with Laoise Fleming as Musical Director and Ewelina Głowacka as Set and Costume Designer.

The production is presented by Out of This Crow Productions Ltd, a London-based non-profit company focusing on musical theatre, Slavic folklore and Central and Eastern European cultural identity.

Basilitrix is part of Voila! Theatre Festival 2026, which runs across London from 2 to 22 November and features 101 shows and events in 60 languages.