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croytopia

Review by Shujah Iqbal

As we approach Croydon Borough of Culture 2023, it was well-timed to see the Croytopia project launch in anticipation. The event was co-hosted by comedian and filmmaker Richard DeDomenici and actress and acting coach Jess Mabel Jones, who were back at the Croydonites Festival of New Theatre once again to host a geekily entertaining evening of film and Croydon reminiscence. It really felt like Jess' recollections are to Croydon what Adrian Mole was to the whole of the 1980s! Her nostalgia features fond memories of the Croydon Jones grew up in, which included the delights of the Black Sheep Indie scene disco (which is now the home to a fab polish deli), the Ship pub which is still a coven to the heavy metal music scene and an alleyway where something wonderful happened. The event itself took place in The Broad Green Tavern's music room, which I learnt on the day is actually quite a famous venue steeped in rock history which has seen the likes of Jimmy Hendrix and Bowie perform in days gone by.

The duo were commissioned by the Croydonites Festival to put together a collaborative multimedia experience called Croytopia which celebrates the life and times of our fair town, via the many films that have used our Croydon’s concrete brutalist locations, to double for practically anywhere you can think of on the planet. Some of the audiences were not aware that Croydon has doubled as a filming background location for many film and TV productions movies. Did you know that Croydon even doubled for Istanbul for the Hollywood action movie American Assassin?

But what would those films have been like if the celebrities were replaced with local folk, and the production teams were replaced by De Domenici’s singular creative spirit? Richard demonstrated just that, explaining that his Redux Project recreates films shot by shot in their original location, but which of course on a much more modest budget. The audience were treated to a screening of  ‘Redux’ version that was filmed at the exact same Croydon location in 2018, and some of the local who were onscreen extras were in attendance,

Croytopia also includes the creation of a new interactive online map which will invite the people of Croydon to #geotag their own video memories of Croydon places that have been significant to them and submit them on the Croytopia map!

The clips and memories shared across the evening were very entertaining, but it was the endearing presence and enthusiasm of the hosts that made the hour-long show much more than the sum of its parts and far better than staying home to watch Netflix!

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  • Home
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  • Archive - 2015
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    • Gill Manly
    • Scottee
    • Parabolic Theatre Company
    • Sarah Blanc / DISCO DISCO
    • Vinicius Salles
    • Anusha Subramanyam / SLiDE
    • Pop-Up Opera
    • Richard DeDomenici
    • Anita Wadsworth
    • Soho Theatre / Talawa Theatre Company
    • CroydonWrites 2018 >
      • Gill Manly
      • Scottee
      • Parabolic Theatre Company
      • DISCO DISCO
      • Sarah Blanc
      • Vinicius Salles
      • SLiDE
      • Anusha Subramanyam
      • Pop Up Opera
      • Richard DeDomenici
      • Anita Wadsworth
      • Natasha Marshall
  • ARCHIVE - 2019
    • Paula Varjack
    • Vinicius Salles
    • Two Destination Language
    • Parabolic Theatre Company
    • Sh!t Theatre
    • Vanessa Macaulay
    • Gill Manly & Joanna Scanlan
    • Ellard/Lech
    • Anita Wadsworth
    • Workshop with Catherine Pestano
    • CroydonWrites 2019 >
      • Who we are...
      • Paula Varjack / The Cult of K*nzo
      • Vinicius Salles / Disruptive Narratives
      • Two Destination Language / Fallen Fruit
      • Parabolic Theatre Company / Crisis? What Crisis?
      • Sh!t Theatre / Sh!t Theatre Drink Rum with Expats
      • Vanessa Macaulay / Made not Born
      • Gill Manly & Joanna Scanlan / The Elephant in the Room
      • Ellard & Lech / Döden
      • Anita Wadsworth / Mother
  • ARCHIVE - 2020
    • Grimm's Online
    • Hannah Maxwell
    • Richard DeDomenici & Jess Mabel Jones
    • Tayo Aluko
    • Byron Vincent
    • Ellie Scanlan
    • Jenny Lockyer
    • Teatro Vivo
    • Parabolic Theatre Company
    • Trevor Lock
    • Shaniqua Benjamin & Well Versed Ink
    • Gill Manly Ellie Scanlan
    • SLiDE 2020
  • Archive - 2022
    • CroydonWrites 2022 >
      • Who we are
      • Figs in Wigs
      • Abandoman
      • CroydonBites 8 Oct
      • Varjack-Lowry
      • Croytopia
      • Hannah Maxwell
      • CroydonBites 15 Oct
      • Parabolic Theatre
      • Joanna Scanlan / Mercy
    • Figs in Wigs
    • Abandoman
    • CroydonBites 8th Oct
    • Varjack-Lowry
    • Hannah Maxwell
    • CroydonBites 15th Oct
    • Queer Diary
    • Beeja Dance
    • SLiDE / Aaron Baksh
    • Parabolic Theatre
    • Joanna Scanlan
    • Croytopia