The Worst Little Warehouse in London

Picture this: You’re a fresh-faced, bodacious twenty-something-year-old jettisoning to old London town in hopes of a bright, bold, brand-new life. It is a move that many make – so many of my mates have done this. The attractive two-year working visa is a nice way to base yourself in the UK and have the rest of Europe at your doorstep. What I think The Worst Little Warehouse in London effectively typifies is the more often than not dank share-house conditions many find themselves in … and that’s where the fun begins! 

As part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Lala Barlow and Robbie Smith tell the story of a real-life Aussie couple who move to Daisy Mill, a converted warehouse in North London. The pair find themselves sharing the warehouse with 10 housemates who are as kooky and off-kilter as the next. There’s dreary Abby who delights herself in writing passive-aggressive notes about a lettuce leaf that fell on the kitchen floor; there’s the sexually deviant yoga instructor who meditates on the regular; there’s Florian, who can only be described as an oddball; and there’s the American couple, one of whom was a porn star. 

‘Almost every day something would happen in the warehouse and you would think “you just can’t come up with this stuff” and eventually we decided that we had to get these characters on stage,’ says co-writer and co-performer Smith. 

The Worst Little Warehouse in London was far from the worst and was an excellent piece of cabaret. Having said that, there were a couple of on-stage hiccups, including a scene where one of the actors forgot their lines, but the vibe with the crowd was so electric that the momentum was maintained. 

At the heart of this outrageously funny and outlandish show is the story of a couple who love each other and make their circumstances work. As Barlow said, they had ‘rose-coloured glasses’. What stuck with me is their sentiment that despite the chaos and drama, once they left the warehouse, they kinda, sorta, missed the motley crew. I think that’s something many of us can relate to as we look back on some of our more interesting living arrangements.