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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...

Reminder to get writing: The Adrian Pagan Award 2016


The Adrian Pagan award is back for a third year. If you think you’ve got what it takes to address the state of the nation rather than reading random blogs on the interwebs, then this might be for you.

The King’s Head are looking for directors, producers and creative teams to pitch plays that capture the current mood in an exciting, thought-provoking and entertaining way. Other than that, anything goes - new writing, revivals and musicals... They will take anything that pokes them the right way.

The winning company will receive a full King’s Head production budget to produce their show at the venue.

Applications are open until 31 July. To enter, you need to download an application from the King’s Head website and it by the deadline.


Shortlisted entrants will be invited to pitch to a panel of industry professionals in September.

Adrian Pagan was a stage manager for ten years before his first play, The Backroom, won the Verity Bargate award and was produced by the Bush Theatre. The award was set up following his tragic death at the age of 39. The first winner of the 2014 award was Thomas Pickles’ Dead Party Animals.

The second winner, in 2015, was Kate Lock’s Russian Dolls which recently concluded a run at the King’s Head (5th - 23rd April 2016).

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