Bella is a composer, singer, vocal coach and musical director. 

​

"[The Audience were] captivated by the storytelling and the music."★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Musical Theatre Review (WHY THE WHALES CAME)

​

"Barlow's music is superb" ★ ★ ★ ★  Miro Magazine (LOCK & KEY)

​

“A glorious statuesque creature with a multifaceted talent to amuse and entertain." SU CULLEN on Bella Barlow 

​

Training: The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama - MA (Distinction) in Musical Theatre

The University of Southampton - BA (Hons) in Music

DipLCM (Distinction) in Musical Theatre.

 

A keen pianist from age seven and tutored by Reginald Thompson, she now largely works as a composer and vocalist across London. She also is the composer of the musical theatre writing duo Barlow & Smith.

 

As Composer for Barlow & Smith, with lyricist A.C. Smith the duo have been commissioned to write for two-time Olivier award winning actress Janie Dee for her show Dream Queen (as part of the the London Festival of Cabaret), were heard on Graham Norton's BBC Radio 2 show, Guest for Kerry Ellis, wrote for One Night In Chelsea (site-specific show, directed by Alastair Knights), and recorded their debut album Christmas In The City with producer Ian Shaw (now available on iTunes), and had their brand new musical Lock & Key (directed by Adam Lenson) produced at Vault Festival in 2018. 

​

Barlow & Smith together with London Playwrights Blog have launched a brand new writing initiative WMTI - Woman in Musical Theatre Initiative - which has been set up to help support female writers in all stages of their careers. Their first fundraising cabaret took place February 2018, their second April 2019 with the hope to develop workshop series and support in the next few years.

 

They have been commissioned by the Canales Project for Hear Her Song, a fantastic project honouring incredible female leaders from the United Nations, with songs from 10 female composers. The songs will be heard in Concert in Wolverhampton, Washington and New York in 2019. The Musical Theatre Duo had their NYC Debut Cabaret, London Calling - An Evening with Barlow & Smith at The Duplex, October 2019 following the premiere of Hear Her Song NYC at Joe's Pub. Their Musical Christmas In The City was shortlisted for the Stiles and Drewe Mentorship Award in 2021. They are currently working on further development of their show VANYA'S, a modern re-imagening of Chekov's Uncle Vanya set in a Jazz club in Soho. They have recently received support for writing from The Other Palace. Barlow & Smith also curate Lab II for MMD (Mercury Musical Developments), a writers lab supporting the development of musical theatre writers internationally and from the UK.

​

Barlow has recently been collaborating with book-writer / lyricist Nikki Racklin on their newest musical Why The Whales Came, adapted from Michael Morpurgo's book of the same name, following sell out shows and 5 star reviews following a production with British Youth Music Theatre in 2021 at The Drum Theatre, Theatre Royal, Plymouth, it will be returning in 2022 for a second season with BYMT in two different venues across the UK (TBA). 

​

Professional stage credits include Dream Queen (The Globe Theatre), Guest Singer and Composer at The United Nations, Hear Her Song (NYC - Joe's Pub), London Calling - An Evening with Barlow & Smith (The Duplex, NYC), Guest singer for Kerry Ellis (The Pheasantry), On My Way EP Launch- Emma Ralston (ATA Cabaret Club), West End To The West Country (Sterts Theatre), Christmas In The City - Album launch (The Pheasantry), Side by Side by Sondheim (Edinburgh Fringe), Florinda in Into the Woods (Stoke Rep.), Model/Ensemble in WAG! The Musical (Rose and Crown), Edda/Witch Sigrun’s Fire (Embassy Theatre), Cindy in Love and Animosity (George Wood Theatre), Amore (South Coast UK Tour), Love and Facebook (Battersea Barge), and A New Horizon (Union Theatre).

​

Bella has worked as a Musical Director and Composer for BYMT on a number of projects including Shakespeare - The Whole Lot, The Frogs, Christmas In The City, and The Grand Budapest Hotel, and most recently, Why The Whales Came.

 

Film Credits include: Bollocks (Polarity Films), Trading Models (Barr Productions), Valda (Gui Oliveira), Joan Armatrading’s music video Starlight (Directed by Joel Anderson) and directed Don’t Let Go (written by Jacob William) and appeared in it for a short cameo role as a dancing Devonshire lass, and show pianist.