Gift vouchers are available for in-house show NewsRevue!

WIP: This Show Does Not Exist (Yet)

9 and 23 October

The work is in progress, and will continue to progress into the show. Will Usherwood-Bliss and Lottie Grogan present a one hour, split bill, improvised clown/character comedy work in progress – a lot of words!

After taking up residency in the theatre over the last 12 months of NewsRevue, Lottie Grogan and Will Usherwood-Bliss and thrilled to be allowed back to perform their very own WIP. What is a WIP, you may ask? If you did audibly ask that: it means we are trying desperately hard to be funny in the future so we need to check that we are funny now to ensure that we are on the right track and that you enjoy your evening in Little Venice!

And YOU are invited!* Join us at the Canal Café Theatre this October for a very special live work in progress recording with many things. Things include: live performers, live magic**, live drinks reception, live theatre, live dance, and, also, comedy (live)! We are still looking for a live Elvis Presley impersonator, so please contact Cicely Hawkes Wellstead at mail@canalcafetheatre.com if you are interested.

Doors will open at 6:45 with the show promptly starting at 7 (pm, not am). No dogs.

TW: Elvis

*subject to whether or not they’ve bought a ticket
**check with magician before putting this in description

Spook-Easy

10 October

Welcome to the Spookeasy, a secret club where ghouls and ghosts can get truly boo-zy.

The Spookeasy, where all the most talented ghosts, ghouls, and spirits of London gather to share a variety of acts from the other side. Join CKC Productions for their annual Halloween Cabaret, a night of singing, comedy, and fun! From vampires to werewolves to Liza Minelli to Babs, we have all the old Broadway divas & Halloween monsters you’ve been asking for. It is sure to be a gorgeous, silly evening to ring in the spooky season all while taking a look at talent ranging from fresh off the West End to London Fringe to brand new graduates. Grab a drink, get boo-zy with us, and come cackle the night away at Canal Cafe Theatre!

CKC Productions is a woman run company, co-founded by three LAMDA alumni, all of whom share a love of comedy and musical theatre. They have celebrated many sold-out cabarets and variety nights that have brought joy to audiences both dead and alive.

Jacobs & Jones with Breadcrumbs

16 -18 October

A sketch show which embraces the daft and the dry in a world of corporate bullshit.

George Jacobs and Will Jones are in the back room. The scissor lift has sunk. The cellophane machine has eaten the forklift. And now there’s grease in their socks… It can only mean one thing. Sketches!

In a world of tinned laughter and processed jokes, where art is unceremoniously plopped into cans and wrapped in microplastics, Jacobs and Jones will fight against the system, breaking free from the shackles of involuntary sponsorship and poor product placement.

Experience the extraterrestrial magic of the ever-curious Gleebleebleebs.

Beware the man at the bus stop before he does something awful, like start talking.

Enjoy a luxury 8-course menu comprised of unfortunate spelling errors.

And much, much more!

Jacobs and Jones have been working together since 2021. From their debut sketch show, Fishing in Puddles, they have found joy in both dry cynicism and daft silliness, with a particular fondness for exploring the inner machinations of the human mind, a.k.a gaslighting their friend Joe until he gets a bit pissy. Don’t steal any of our jokes or we’ll tell on you. (No really. Don’t).

Ugly Baby > Broken Mirrors WIP

24 October

An anthology of original short plays exploring identity, trauma, and what remains of the self when our understanding of who we are begins to fracture.
When you look in the mirror, who do you see? Would someone else see the same person? And what happens if that image starts to change, to distort and, in some cases, fall away completely?

‘Broken Mirrors’ is an anthology of original short plays centred around themes of identity, trauma and the concept of “self”. These stories explore the precarious balance of what it means to be human, and the fractures that occur when trauma shatters our assumed identities. From quiet domestic unravellings to surreal, kaleidoscopic visions of the mind, these stories interrogate how we break apart and who we become in the aftermath.

‘Ugly Baby’ is a theatre company based in London founded by a group of actors who decided it was their turn to write the script. Wrestling themselves free from the plague of perfectionism they created this company as a place for emerging writers to display their ‘work in progress’ or ‘ugly baby’ to the world.

Blondie Blue Eyes

4, 9, 10 November

Asian person does white woman drag.
A part of the Voila! Festival

“There is no point
in national pride
When the nation I’m from
is lost to me.”

Against the backdrop of an upbeat comedy, BLONDIE BLUE EYES is a tragedy rooted in the horror of breaking down one’s sense of self to fit a social norm stemming from a post-colonial culture of white supremacy. Combining elements of slapstick, movement and drag artistry, the play follows the turmoil of titular character Blondie, who so desperately desires to be the epitome of the White ideal that she herself becomes a caricature of it. From an implication of the audience at the very beginning of the performance, it is a reminder of our role in perpetuating social norms and upholding Eurocentric beauty standards–whether consciously or unconsciously–through consuming media.

With concepts like gentrification, whitewashing and representation being tossed a big zeitgeist tumble dryer, BLONDIE BLUE EYES is a piece surrounding the literal erasure of culture in the pursuit of perfection. Throughout the piece, Blondie exists in a cyclical hell loop where she keeps breaking out of her façade but always ends up pushed back into the ‘perfect’ presentation she initially shows herself as. Will she break free of her shackles? Or will she succumb to the immovable force of ‘the norm’? Stay tuned to find out.

P.S.: audience participation is strictly mandatory.

21 Days

6 & 7 November

A heartbroken man spirals into addiction until an enigmatic flatmate forces him to confront whether logic can tame the chaos of human emotion in a technology-driven 2030.
A part of Voila! Festival

The year is 2030.

After a painful break-up, Jay hits the reset button on his life—but instead of healing, he spirals into a cycle of rage, isolation, and alcohol dependency. In a world increasingly disconnected by technology, his search for meaningful connection is overshadowed by his own self-destructive habits.

Enter May: a strange and enigmatic new flatmate whose unexpected presence begins to challenge Jay’s worldview. As their uneasy cohabitation unfolds, truths are confronted and emotions unravel.

21 Days is a bold new work exploring how we cope with heartbreak, addiction, and emotional suppression in a world where we humans face the unpredictability of technology. It asks: can logic ever explain the chaos of human emotion?

Stuffed

8, 11, & 15 November

Confessions of a Market Researcher

A part of Voila! Festival

Hi, I’m Chiara. My father was a hippie, my mother an avid consumer. I guess I wound up working in market research to see what the fuss was about. Or maybe to pick a side. Twenty years later, I am still in that job, and still ambivalent about what -and how much- we buy. As the world gallops towards an uncertain future, it may well be time to rethink the role of ‘stuff’ in our lives, before it stuffs us.

This play tells the story of my years growing up in 80s Italy and later working with ‘consumers’ across the world. Through a recollection of my most memorable work moments (riding trucks when eight months pregnant, getting my hair done in India, and more) and personal events (immigration, estrangement, motherhood), Stuffed wants to show the complex, subtle pull of consumerism, and wonders how best to handle it now that there is no Planet B. Hungry for an authentic, sustainable coexistence with Things- and with the people in my life- I ponder on the good, the bad and the ugly of ownership. I venture that possessions can be imbued with salience, and wonder what we are really seeking through the acquisition of things.

Cocaine

13 & 14 November

A gripping, 80s drama that follows a man’s descent into cocaine addiction alongside a lady’s emotional struggle with love, helplessness, and frustration, delivering a raw, unflinching exploration of dependency, desire, and self-destruction.

A part of Voila! Festival

Cocaine by Pendleton King is a one-act play, originally published in 1917, that delves into the psychological and emotional turmoil caused by drug addiction. The story has been adapted for the 80s decade, and centres on the character of a former boxer, Joe, once full of potential, whose life spirals downward as he becomes consumed by his addiction to cocaine. He struggles with the overwhelming cravings and the need to escape from reality. Also, caught in the turmoil of growing cocaine addiction is Nora, who wrestles with feelings of love, helplessness, and frustration.

Through these characters, King explores themes of dependency, self-destruction, and the impact of addiction on relationships. King’s writing is poignant in its portrayal of the human psyche, and the work is rich in themes of self-deception, moral decay, and the conflict between desire and consequence, making it a powerful commentary on the broader societal issue of drug addiction.

Casanova

17 & 18 November

Casanova: lover, hero, clown! Hilarious physical comedy from award-winning clown Jon Tilley

A part of Voila! Festival

A man who relies entirely on his wits – and his incredibly alluring face and body. Join award-winning physical comedian Jon Tilley (“Magnetic” The Scotsman) for a hilarious ride through the ridiculous and the sublime, in an anarchic, comic retelling of the myth of real-life ultimate lover and original rom com leading man, Casanova!

Following smash-hot fringe favourites ‘The Bakers’ (Fringe World Comedy Weekly Award Winner 2020), Scotland! (★★★★★ Fringefeed), Attenborough and his Animals (★★★★★ Adelaide Advertiser), and Strictly Barking (Fringe World Children’s Event Award Overall Winner 2023), Jon Tilley won the Prague Fringe Comedy Award for his first solo show ‘Old Man’. Now he’s back with his new creation.

‘Casanova’ was created by Jon Tilley, with creative input from Norwegian clown Peder Skjemstad and British dramaturg and performer Caitlin Campbell, with support from the Astronef Theatre Marseille and Theatre de la Noue Montreuil. The show toured to Australia in early 2026, and then to finland where it won the Finfringe Baltic Nordic Fringe Network Award.

“It is evident immediately that Tilley is a master clown” ★★★★ Binge Fringe



It’s Curtains

20 - 22 November

Absurdist physical comedy about curtains, performed by curtains – “the ideal clowning experience” (Chortle).

A part of Voila! Festival

Everything starts and ends with curtains.

Formidably stupid, physical comedy from Gaulier-trained clown couple Julie Nesher (Offie-Nominated) and Tom Curzon (Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality). ‘It’s Curtains’ is an absurd visual spectacle inspired by curtains, about curtains, performed by curtains. You will not leave the show uncertain about what was in the show because the material is consistently 100% curtains and may be understood by anyone who has ever touched a curtain or curtains.

Ridiculous, brave and important theatre which dares to ask what others avoid asking. Should we be making shows about curtains?

“Wonderfully surreal” – Reviewshub

“Simple, wonderful visual gags… with the animate personality of the Pixar lamp… the ideal clowning experience” – Chortle

Devised and Performed by Julie Nesher and Tom Curzon

A Christmas Carol II

28 & 29 November

It’s Christmas Carol meets Die Hard – can Scrooge save Christmas..?

You’ve seen A Christmas Carol! And if not, where have you been for the last 183 years? But did you know about its long-lost sequel? Hidden in a discarded desk, gathering dust all this time. It has finally been discovered!

Now, have you seen Die Hard? And you agree it’s a Christmas film? Brilliant! But did you know, Die Hard is actually a rip off of the planned Dickens sequel?

That’s right! It’s Christmas Carol meets Die Hard, meets the budget of Fringe theatre!

Christmas Carol 2!

One year on from the events of the original, Ebenezer Scrooge has given away to every charitable cause he could find. Unfortunately, he’s now penniless.

In a desperate attempt not to fall back into his miserable ways of old, he tries to rekindle his relationship with his ex-wife, Belle, at the Fezziwig Plaza Christmas Party. But his plans are put in jeopardy by the arrival of some very Christmassy terrorists.

Can Ebenezer defeat the terrorists, win back his beloved and actually make a legacy sequel work?

Featuring all the beloved characters from the original, and a few new ones to boot, come and join us at the Canal Café Theatre on the 28th and 29th November.