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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...

Theatre: 2000 Feet Away


Publicity still for 2000 Feet Away: Phyllis Logan, Joseph Fiennes and Ian Hart
Source:offwestend.com

I was talking to an actor recently who was horrified to learn that out there in the blogosphere, there are bloggers that go to previews and review the work before the official press night... He was initially horrified and then angry. After slowly stepping away from the actor and getting back to the real world, I thought it must be strange for some people to comprehend how people pay for a show and then talk about it afterwards... It is as if the phrase "word of mouth"didn't exist before blogging... It seems to be the latest thing for actors to moan about bloggers even if it is what they have to appear in that is at fault...

So with all that in mind, I am blogging about going to a preview of 2000 Feet away by Anthony Weigh on Friday night at the Bush Theatre. I don't know what made me want to go see this play about sex offenders and a local sheriff responsible for enforcing a law keeping them away places where children may gather... But I am glad that I did. It must have been the power of some great email marketing in late May that did it. I didn't even realise that the cast included Joseph Fiennes. Richard joined me to see the play. I saw Dina Martina at the Soho Theatre with him and he thought there was a common theme in the sort of entertainment we have been seeing together: sexual abuse... If we keep that up the mind boggles thinking about what we are going to see next...

This play was first presented in Sydney last year and there was a view then it had nine scenes yet to make a coherent play. I am assuming it developed further (or that reviewer was bonkers), as what we were presented with was a very cleverly put together series of scenes that while may have been stylistic, were always sharp and funny... And there never was a dull moment... All the performances were amazing including by the young cast members. It was also interesting that this cast seemed to fare better than most in London in being able to perform with genuine American accents.

Being Bush Theatre virgins and having spent a little longer at the bar next door, we had to take one of the unreserved seats closer to the performance area. I noticed those who appeared more experienced with seeing productions here took the seats further back. However sitting on one of the sides does have its advantages as you can check out the rest of the audience while pretending to be watching the play... You also were so close to the performers you could reach out and touch them... Not that you would want to try that, but you could see every detail and nuance of the performances. So much so that Richard informed me afterwards he was sure Joseph was wearing boxer briefs.

Earlier this week when it was a bit warmer, a luvvie had also told me I better wear a t-shirt and shorts going to the Bush Theatre as it is hot... I can gladly report that this advice was out of date... While the weather had cooled by the end of the week, the Bush Theatre also now has air conditioning.

So all told, I saw the play in preview... But I thought it was great... I'm sure by the time press night rolls around tomorrow night it will be amazing... Unsurprisingly it has sold out but day seats remain available... It must be that good word of mouth...

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