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Two Ladies: La Bella Bimba at Barons Court Theatre / Canal Cafe Theatre

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T hey sing. They dance. They clown around. They even wash clothes! Such is the story of La Bella Bimba, part of the Voila Theatre Festival, which highlights new and emerging artists. A tale of two Italian ladies who land in 1920s New York, trying to break into Broadway without speaking a word of English. It’s harmless, primarily even if a little nonsensical, and is currently playing as part of the Voila! Theatre Festival .  I caught the performance at the Barons Court Theatre , where the intimate setting created an evocative atmosphere reminiscent of dark New York alleyways. The space was almost claustrophobic with a distinct smell of rising damp, making you feel immersed in the story of two Ladies hanging around the theatre doors of Broadway. On the plus side, the theatre has some of the most comfortable seats you will find in any pub theatre in London. As the naive and hopeful singers, Co-creator Lucrezia Galeone as Carlotta and Sarah Silvestri as Cecilia are fine singers with co...
Just another Summer Saturday in London

Today was one of those days when you could have:
  1. Seen the women's final at Wimbledon (assuming that you had tickets)
  2. Gone to Live 8 at Hyde Park (assuming you won tickets on the mobile phone lottery)
  3. Participated in the London Pride (assuming you were a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender person)
I went the third one of these. There hadn't been so many gay men in central London since yesterday, but that didn't stop anybody having a good time. I wasn't planning on taking part in the actual march from Hyde Park to Victoria Embankment, but A convinced me to do so and before I knew it I was walking up Piccadilly getting applause (which is something that you don't get everyday).

There was an interesting part near Pall Mall as well where anti-gay protestors had placards saying something about sodomites. A and his friends asked what we should be doing at this point and I said we should just do what everybody else was doing: make impolite gestures with our middle finger and shout "motherfuckers". We did. And it was such fun. It was probably the most sensible debate to have with these people.

I didn't really spot any celebrities unless you count rights campaigner Peter Tatchell as one. He has to be admired for his passion on issues and his attempt to make a citizens arrest on despot Mugabe, even though he is a tad left on the political spectrum...

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