Caroline Cole plays White Bitch Bingo at Baron’s Court
After the success of our 2025 Camden Fringe Interview series, we thought it only right to attempt a repeat for 2026. So throughout July we’ll be publishing new interviews each day to give a taste of what to expect from London’s best fringe theatre festival. The festival starts Monday 3 August this year, so we may give ourselves a couple of days off inbetween the end of the interviews and the first shows… then again, we might not.
You can find out more about Camden Fringe, along with details of every show playing this August here. You can also find all of this year’s interviews as they are published here.
What happens when you take the grounding reality of a classic British pastime, filter it through a sharp American comedic lens, and use it to dismantle white-lady stereotypes? You get White Bitch Bingo, a 50-minute blend of storytelling, stand-up, and clowning hitting the Barons Court Theatre for Camden Fringe 2026. Created by American writer and performer Caroline Cole, the show channels the exact high-energy, chaotic comfort of a fun substitute teacher who tosses out the lesson plan to tell stories and play games instead.
We caught up with Caroline to discuss how a comedy class in Dallas sparked the project, using laughter to deflate the ego of modern fascism, and why a mimed bingo cage might actually be superior to the real thing.
If you had to describe the vibe of your show in just one sentence, what would it be and how does it manifest on stage?
Oooo, the fun substitute/supply teacher is here today so we don’t have to do regular class because she’ll tell us stories and play games instead!
Why is 2026 the perfect time for this show to be seen?
We can respond to fascism with fear or choose to stick our fingers in its ludicrous plot holes, laugh riotously at its absurdity, deflate its ego, and, ultimately, render it powerless.
Perhaps it’s because humans are internet-ing more than ever before, or that the pandemic shaped us in ways we’re only barely beginning to understand… or perhaps COVID shed light on the even more damaging epidemic of loneliness that’s underneath all the frustration and rage boiling at the surface of humanity in 2026. It’s easier than ever to forget the things that make humanity wonderful: art, laughter, and getting off your goddamn screen to connect with your fellow human beings. White Bitch Bingo is a 50ish-minute performance that unpacks white-lady stereotypes, both silly and serious, while redirecting focus toward what we all need more of: connection.
What was the ‘eureka moment’ that made you realise this story had to be told right now?
When I realised that this idea had legs, I was pitching jokes in a stand-up class with Mike Lukas at Dallas Comedy Club this past February. When someone with over four decades of joke writing and performing experience says, “I’ve never heard anyone say it like that before…” you’ve gotta let go and fall down the rabbit hole to see what’s there.
Is this version how you originally envisioned it or has it changed since you first put pen to paper?
I’d say it’s changed organically, as I’ve never written a show like this before. I didn’t sit down and make a character list and write dialogue to tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. I just had the sketch of an idea, a concept that I thought had traction, a new lens through which to look at an old game; then I began working it out in small groups with comics and friends I trusted. That gameplay heavily shaped the version I’m planning to play with folks at the festival. I expect it’ll keep evolving from there.
That’s one of my favorite things about this project: how collaborative and interactive it’s been. I feel more like the curator of the WBB experience, as it’s built on my ideas and experiences, but each time I play, something new and unexpected shows up, depending on who’s in the room and how involved people decide to get.
How important is audience interaction to you?
This show draws on the traditions of storytelling, stand-up, and clowning, each of which involves varying degrees of audience participation. No one will make you respond to me onstage (you can sit quietly and receive the show if that’s your vibe), but using bingo as the show’s grounding reality means the audience is integral to the plot and ultimately in charge of how the show ends. There’s no fourth wall in this performance; as the Disney classic that resonates deeply with every millennial, High School Musical, reminds us, “We’re all in this together.” We decide what happens together through our connection and the truths the game might reveal.
If your show was a love letter to a specific person, place, or era, who or what would it be?
It’s a love letter to anyone with a complicated relationship to their ancestry and legacy. Where we come from, the soup we grow up simmering in, these aren’t things we can control, but we can decide whether to look at those things honestly and how we integrate them moving forward.
Being a fringe festival, we all know sets have to be bare minimum. How have you got around this with your set and props?
If traveling internationally wasn’t part of production and baggage limits weren’t a real financial constraint, we’d play White Bitch Bingo with a real cage and bingo balls. Maybe one day, but for now, the bingo part of the game is mimed and sound effects mimicked. Honestly, it’s sillier this way; I might prefer it…
Can you share a “fake” review of the show from someone close to you?
“For a show about white bitches, I expected more tiny dogs…” – Daphne, a 10-pound, 13-year-old Shih Tzu, the queen of Caroline Cole’s heart and home.
What words of advice/encouragement would you give anyone thinking about doing Camden Fringe next year?
This is an intentional place for artists to offer new ideas that seem scary and fallible. It’s meant as a supportive incubator for the fragility of artistic creation. Find a venue that’s interested in your concept, then take the leap. Life is short; share your show.
Many thanks to Caroline for overcoming the time difference and finding the time to chat. White Bitch Bingo will play at Barons Court Theatre from Monday 3 to Wednesday 5 August.
You can find out more about Caroline on her website here.
