Back in the flesh for the first time since 2019, would anyone remember who we were? A new addition to the team, Katie Hurley, brought new artists and audiences.
Figs in Wigs (last seen in 2015) got us off to a great start with ‘Astrology Bingo’ where cabaret, bingo and astrology come together for an evening of entertainment with the added bonus of a lesson in star signs. One lucky audience member even won an hours’ session with a bona fide astrologist.
Hannah Maxwell who was part of the 2020 line up, finally brought her whimsical and hilarious show ‘I, Am Dram’ about growing up in a household obsessed with amateur dramatics to The Front Room. Audiences are always surprised when they arrive at The Front Room, tucked away in St Georges Walk, it is the perfect size for Croydonites shows, well equipped and run by two of the coolest guys in Croydon. We love it.
Other artists who presented work there included Abandoman who brought his original brand of hip hop improvisation, and the film premiere ‘The Baby Question’ by Varjack/Lowry.
Our other favourite Croydon venue (now sadly no more) was Matthews Yard. It was compact to say the least, but manageable and we put it to good use for our CroydonBites programme - short works by local artists trying out new ideas. Over 2 Saturday afternoons 7 artists (Gill Manly, Katie Hurley, Anita Wadsworth, Shaniqua Benjamin, Simon Manyonda, KH Del Rio Smith, Beth Watson) presented scratch performances, plus we squeezed in an edition of Queer Diary, and a work in progress performed by BAFTA award winning Joanna Scanlan. 'Mercy' was written by Peter Bradshaw (film critic of the Guardian) and directed by Christopher Luscombe (National Theatre, West End and the RSC) and this rehearsed reading was hugely popular. We were honoured to host it.
SLiDE graced us with a new work ‘Jack and Friends’ supported by local choreographer/dancer Aaron Baksh and Beeja Dance made a welcome return with ‘Choogh Choogh’ for young children. Richard DeDomenici and Jess Mabel Jones launched ‘Croytopia’ at the Broad Green Tavern and Anna got covid (boo). But we broke even and it turns out the good folk of Croydon did remember who we were.
Header image by Rosie Collins