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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...

Last chance for something completely different: Karagula @wearepigdog


In it’s final week in a disused bar in Tottenham is Philip Ridley’s Karagula.

It’s an amibitious dystopian work that has been baffling audiences for the past month. There are various worlds coliding in the piece. Time and narrative shifts to tell a story of rebellion against totalitarian regimes.



One regime insists the world should be 1950s apple pie and milkshakes. Anyone who challenges this gets shot. Or they just shoot people anyway. Another world dispenses with all sorts of personal traits and wears white suits and talk calmly and malevolently...

There are also tales from primitive societies and what could be the forerunner of a new religion.

Anyway it’s ambitious, mind boggling physical theatre in an unforgiving space... Not Tottenham, but the cavernous empty Styx bar space which serves as the backdrop for this crazy adventure.


I caught an early preview of it and I have avoided milkshakes ever since. But you can catch it and have a Neopolitan-style pizza in the forecourt of the venue before the show. Or spend time there at interval wondering what’s it all about.

A production from emerging company PIGDOG, which aims to use experimental forms of theatre to explore a range of issues, including accessibility, equality and gender politics.

Karagula concludes this week on 9 July. It certainly is something for those that like their theatre to be a little bit different...

Photo credit: production photos by Lara Genovese / Naiad Photography


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