theatre

Croydonites: the monster edition

9 October 2024

It’s Autumn and that means Croydonites is back very soon. In fact the theatre and performance festival is back x 2, because they are hosting their first ever Fringe Festival from Thursday 31 October...
Read more

Croydon goes to Edinburgh

4 July 2024

Summer is well under way, so for many performers that means decamping to Scotland for ‘The greatest platform for creative freedom in the world.’ Yes folks, I’m talking about the Edinburgh Fringe. This week...
Read more

The perfect show for everyone

29 May 2024

Last Friday we swapped the bright lights and skyscrapers of Croydon for the bright lights and skyscrapers of the Barbican, as we attended the press night of Zoo Co’s Perfect Show For Rachel. Zoo...
Read more

Access needs and 80s pop

23 May 2024

This week we catch up with performance artist Vijay Patel ahead of his show, Brotherly, Otherly, Disorderly, arriving at Stanley Arts on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 June. The show, described as ‘an access...
Read more

This is the finale

14 March 2024

Croydon’s London Borough of Culture year is coming to a close, and to celebrate, This Is Croydon has curated a series of eclectic music events called Croydon Remix for the closing weekend, which runs...
Read more

This is journey of a refugee

1 February 2024

This weekend a new immersive production opens at Stanley Arts as part of the This Is Croydon programme. Inspired by true stories of refugees and displacement, Journey of a Refugee is a blend of...
Read more

Aladdin versus Jack

21 December 2023

This week me and our 6-year-old, Beth, have been to not one but two Croydon pantomimes. Oh yes we have. Sunday night was spent watching Aladdin at Fairfield Halls and Wednesday evening was Jack...
Read more

Magic beans in South Norwood

14 December 2023

As you’ll know from our feature last week, pantomime season is almost upon us, and this year the Cronx has not one but two big pantos taking place. Oh no it doesn’t, oh yes...
Read more

Festive genie-ous

7 December 2023

Panto season is nearly upon us, and this year Croydon has not one but two big pantomimes happening. (I’m really resisting a panto gag here). First up we chat with the director of the...
Read more

This is Night Shift

21 November 2023

Last week I headed to the opening night of Zoo Co’s new production, Night Shift, which is running until this Saturday (25 November) at Stanley Arts. Not having seen a Zoo Co show since...
Read more

Upper Norwood’s Downsview

16 November 2023

Autumn is indeed a season for theatre, especially in Croydon. This week we chat with Sam Canning, who is the director of the Upper-Norwood-based amateur dramatics company, The Downsview Players. We talk about their...
Read more

A taste of a bit of a do

12 October 2023

Billed as comedy, cabaret and creativity, A Bit of a Do –  the annual festival curated by accessible arts charity Drunken Chorus – returns to Croydon next week, from 18–28 October. We caught up...
Read more

This is Croydonites

28 September 2023

It’s nearly that time of year when our favourite theatre and performance festival returns to Croydon. That’s right, Croydonites Festival is back this Autumn from 2 to 18 November bringing us some awesome theatre...
Read more

This is Liberty

24 August 2023

The next London Borough of Culture festival on our radar is Liberty. The free arts festival celebrating the work of deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists hits our town for three days from Friday 1...
Read more

This is Recognition

15 June 2023

I was excited to see Talawa’s new production, Recognition, earlier this week, which forms part of the This Is Croydon programme. Written by Amanda Wilkin and directed by Rachael Nanyonjo, Recognition parallels the stories...
Read more

The many faces of Lilian Braithwaite

2 March 2023

And we’re now in March, which in case you didn’t know is Women’s History Month. In the coming weeks we also of course celebrate International Women’s Day (next Wednesday 8 March) and Mother’s Day...
Read more

Odd Eyes’ On The Line

11 January 2023

If your new year’s resolution is to embrace more local arts and culture ahead of Croydon becoming the Borough of Culture in spring, well then this one’s for you. Odd Eyes Theatre is bringing...
Read more

Hooking you in

16 December 2022

Fairy dust, flying over rooftops, mermaids, pirates and a healthy topping of double entendre – it can only mean one thing – Panto season is here the Fairfield Halls Croydon with ‘The Further Adventures...
Read more

More than a bit of a do

12 October 2022

Continuing our ‘theatrical’ theme this month we catch up with co-director of Drunken Chorus, Sheena Holliday, to find out about this year’s A Bit Of A Do festival which runs from 21 to 29...
Read more

Unscene in South Norwood

3 October 2022

‘Tis evidently the season for theatre in Croydon, as this week we chat with Stanley Arts’ Heritage Engagement Manager Moa Taylor Hodin about their upcoming immersive show Unscene, which runs from 5 to 9...
Read more

Croydon’s favourite theatre festival

29 September 2022

Croydon’s favourite theatre festival returns next thursday (6 October), bringing us over two weeks of theatre, performance, dance, song, comedy and film. Yes, Croydonites (or to give their full title, Croydonites Festival of New...
Read more

Women’s March

24 February 2022

March is nearly upon us which means this year’s International Women’s Day is only just over a week away, with the 2022 focus being #BreakTheBias. But why only raise awareness for a day when...
Read more

A queer hurrah

20 January 2022

The start of the year always seems a bit drab and dreary. January blues, followed by the biting chill of February. However, this year there’s the sparkle of balls, screenings, Q&As galore, storytelling and...
Read more

Children, centre stage

13 January 2022

For our first chat of 2022 we catch up with the multi-talented Salihah Agbaje. From arts practitioner, children’s author, and podcaster, to passionate educationalist, and founder of Theatre in Education organisation Spoken World Productions,...
Read more

Panto Bogies

15 December 2021

Oh no you’re not! He’s behind you! Boooooooo! Yep you guessed it, Panto season is well and truly here but with a new addition to traditional sayings ‘BOGIES’. Welcome to The Fairfield Halls and...
Read more

Having a bit of a do

17 November 2021

This week we catch up with arts organisation Drunken Chorus, as their free-to-attend inclusive festival of theatre, dance and cabaret, A Bit Of A Do returns to Stanley Arts. We chat to joint directors Chris Williams...
Read more

Ghosts, ghouls, dragons and badgers

21 October 2021

You may have heard recent murmurings of dragons in South Norwood Country Park or ghosts in Stanley Halls. We wanted to find out more about the local arts organisation behind these events, so we...
Read more

The infinite possibilities of theatre

5 August 2021

This week we catch up with Jamal Chong who is artistic director of Croydon-based theatre company Misprint. You may remember Jamal’s name from his days as artistic director and venue manager at Theatre Utopia...
Read more

Zoom to the moon and beyond

10 March 2021

This year Croydonites Festival of New Theatre looks a little different for obvious reasons. The fifth festival was supposed to happen from 26-29 March 2020, but Lockdown 1 halted proceedings, so they have embraced...
Read more

Rainy days and musical adventures

14 January 2021

Music has always been dear to my heart. I’m in a band, curate a festival and now also have a music podcast, but I’m also a huge fan of history. I was recently reading...
Read more

Collecting tales of Croydon and beyond

21 May 2020

We are still lamenting the loss of this year’s Croydonites festival, being massive fans of Croydon’s annual theatrical event. We talked earlier in the year about all the exciting and innovative theatre we were...
Read more

The SAVVY way to do theatre

27 February 2020

This week we complete our trio of features on the creative organisations who now call the Fairfield Halls their home. SAVVY Theatre is an award-winning company, creating ambitious, inclusive productions and theatre experiences that...
Read more