WHAT'S ON at CANAL CAFÉ THEATRE
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TOP PICK - all the year round
NEWSREVUE
Four nights a week
Thursday – 7.30pm
Friday – 9.30pm
Saturday – 9.30pm
Sunday – 7.00pm
The world’s longest running live comedy show. A fast-moving mix of sketches and songs, NewsRevue propels you through the world’s news and current events at breakneck pace — all-kicking, idol-burning comedy, with brand new content injected into the show weekly by a crack team of writers and cast alike.
This current affairs parody song and sketch show is acknowledged as a “rite of passage for all comedy newcomers” (Chortle). Alumni include The League of Gentlemen, Sarah Pascoe, Bill Bailey, Saskia Reeves and Michelle Collins. The cast members, described as having “Herculean levels of talent” (WhatsOnStage.com), together with an on-stage musical director receive 5-star reviews at Edinburgh Fringe Festival every year. Masochistically popular amongst politicians, you may see an MP in the audience!
La Petite Valise au bord du canal
25 June
Vintage jazz and cabaret as they are meant to be.
Allow us to introduce on vocals the ever vivacious and effervescent Ms Janey Gardiner and tickling the ivories musical maestro Mr Will Hall, a veritable impresario of unique and original arrangements à la cabaret, La Petite Valise, (from Et Sa Valise-Vintage Cabaret).
Vintage jazz and cabaret as they are meant to be- from the grimy underground sounds of 1920s Berlin and songs of gay Paris to the fun, frivolous, and frankly fabulous, grab your feather boa and do not miss this unique night out. The intimate cabaret space of Canal Café Theatre provides the perfect setting to immerse yourself in a world of torch songs, show songs and vintage jazz loveliness, expect the unexpected, old-school escapism at its best…
All that remains is for you to relax and enjoy a wonderful Wednesday with us. Life is a cabaret old chum, so come to the cabaret.
EYE-TO-EYE
27 June
An evening-length story told through a single narrator, blurring the boundary between a cabaret show and a classical song recital.
This is a cabaret show like you’ve never seen before, blurring the boundary between cabaret, jazz, and classical music. One narrator guides us through the evening through speech and song, retracing the same story of love and loss from a range of perspectives, sometimes her own, and sometimes from the perspectives of others. Four musicians support and enhance the narrative journey, playing viola, double bass, bass clarinet, and piano. Each one gets their own moment in the spotlight, sometimes complimenting, sometimes agitiating the narrator, but always enhancing the emotional world she’s inhabiting and exploring.
The show weaves together brand new music, words by Olivia Bell and music by Gregory May, with older music, both classical song and jazz standards, creating a rich tapestry of continuous music which unpicks and explores the psychology of our narrator. Expect to be taken on a wide-ranging emotional journey, from coy playfulness to hard-hitting truths, seamlessly melded together into an evening of song which very personally celebrates the world of cabaret from the perspective of classically-trained musicians.
30 June
An evening of pure absurdist comedy with extreme ASMR practitioner Yogie Belle and friends.
Get ready to Lose Your Marbles at the Canal Café Theatre in Little Venice, Maida Vale!
Curated by the worlds #1 extreme ASMR practitioner and sound beautician, Yogie Belle, this vaudevillian extravaganza delivers a hand-picked line-up of alternative acts who’ll leave you wailing with joy like a dolphin that’s escaped from Leningrad zoo.
Unapologetically original absurd alternative comedy— from the front trenches of the fringe.
Lose Your Marbles celebrates the theatre of the weird, the wild, and the wonderfully bizarre in a collision of storytelling, performance, music and clowning in a kaleidoscope of unlimited limitless silliness.
What to Expect:
· Fringe artists who dare to be different.
· A chaotic night of pure comedic anarchy.
· The perfect evening for fans of boundary-pushing brilliance.
Grab your tickets before they’re gone—this show sells out fast! Book now—and get your *FREE sound shower on the house!
*Disclaimer: Sound Shower is only available on a first come basis
#LoseYourMarbles #AlternativeComedy #FringeComedy #AbsurdistTheatre
LIONESS
19 - 20 July
A one-woman comedy drama following goalkeeper Marnie through the periods, penalties and pressure of a WSL Championship season – as she realises why it’s never “just a game.”
“Just a game?”
An Amazon All or Nothing documentary – but without the sponsorship money. Or men.
Goalkeeper Marnie juggles a second job, a Premier League striker boyfriend and the incels of football Twitter over the course of a WSL Championship season. With her team battling relegation, can the newly-appointed captain save them – and her career – from the drop?
Lioness is a one-woman comedy drama exploring confidence, fan culture and the footballing gender pay gap. Think Dear England meets Derry Girls – with hefty sprinkles of North London grit, heart and attitude.
Since the Lionesses victory in Euro 2022, there has been an explosion of plays about women’s football; the buzzing atmospheric crossover between football grounds and theatres is finally being recognised. Instead of looking back, Lioness stages the current side hustles, training regimes and online misogyny of lesser-known players.
Following four successful R&D scratch nights in 2023, and two critically-acclaimed WIP shows in 2024, this love letter to football, ferocity and friendship is ready for her first-team debut.
Catch the ONLY London preview shows before a full length run at Edinburgh Fringe!
SHIRLEY KNOT THE SIREN
28 & 30 July
An evening of comedy cabaret, singing and all things fishy as she celebrates the joy of standing out from the shoal.
Ever wondered what happens to a siren when she ages?
Join Shirley for an evening of comedy cabaret, dancing and all things fishy as she celebrates the joy of standing out from the shoal.
Shirley is here to tell you she’ll not be put out to sea just yet, thank you very much. Shirley’s cabaret sails through many decades of life’s rubbish as a Siren on the rocks!
Awards:
Halifax Fringe Festival – Hot Seat Award
Alternative Cabaret Battle – 2nd runner up
TWO WEIRD GUYS WHO ARE GAY (WIP)
29 July
Two weird guys who are gay talk about being weird and being gay.
Two of London’s weirdest and most exciting queer voices on the comedy circuit – Dick Denham and James Murphy – bring their surreal and absurdist split bill stand-up comedy show to the Camden Fringe for one night only!
Following his Camden Fringe debut in 2023 with his show Big Dick Energy, this time around Dick will offer his offbeat observations on being genderqueer in a heteronormative world, ageing, mental health, and the aspects of British culture we love to be indifferent about.
James will give a unique insight into life as a 6ft8 gay man with fiery absurdity, questioning society’s expectations – from popped lungs to marriage and kids, and the rapidly changing world we live in.
Dick Denham was the LGBTQ+ New Act Runner-Up 2022, has performed at various venues including the Pleasance Theatre as part of Nick Helm’s 2023 Christmas show, and has been described by Zoe Lyons as “really fun” and Stephen Bailey as a “joy to watch”.
James Murphy won the British Comedy Guide’s Performance Award 2022, was a Max Turner New Act Finalist, and 2Northdown New Act Finalist. he has been described by Chortle as “an elaborate, creative writer able to turn a phrase that’s comically off-kilter”.
Novy’s Guide to Mysterious Mistakes
4 & 5 July
Novy, a Japanese native new to London, launches into the hustle, determined to find his way, but with zero spiritual training, he becomes a fortune teller.
Performed by Japanese clown, theatre-maker, and accidental psychic Nobuo Otsuka, Novy’s Guide is a chaotic, mischievous, and surprisingly uplifting solo show that turns culture shock into comedy.
Fresh off the plane in cosmopolitan London, Novy arrives certain he has world-class talents and that becoming the perfect English gentleman will be no problem at all. What could possibly go wrong? When language fails, accents betray, and confidence wobbles, there’s only one option left: lie for money. Spiritually, of course.
Based on Nobuo’s real (and deeply questionable) stint as a psychic medium, this absurd autobiographical adventure dives into migration, identity, and the bizarre world of spiritual capitalism—with a little help from a stuffed bear. But mishaps don’t break him—they shape him. Each blunder, misunderstanding, and misstep forges him into someone strangely brilliant, utterly lovable, and undeniably himself.
A celebration of wide-eyed naivety as a secret shield against life’s harder knocks, Novy’s Guide is performed in English, broken English, and the occasional painfully honest Japanese.
Bring tissues. And a marmalade sandwich. Just in case.
LOVE YOU, BYE!
1 - 3 August
Songs, sketches and shenanigans galore.
Four zany broads performing outrageous and uproarious sketches. Who knew such a thing was possible? And more importantly, who allowed it?
Serious Billy Productions presents: Love You, Bye!, a new sketch comedy show, featuring a range of hilariously offbeat characters, from clumsy clairvoyants to cocky Cornish surfers.
