Review: CroydonBuilds

CroydonBuilds is the second stage of the Croydonites development pathway. Here local creatives are invited back after time and support to develop their work into longer pieces. As a double bill these two shows created an exhilarating contrast that you can only find at New Writing showcases, nowhere else would audience engagement shift from a Q and A about menopause to being the congregation for an evangelist pastor.

It Could Be You- The Menopause Lottery by Catherine Pestano

Catherine’s auto-biographical show offered the audience a complete vulnerability which in turn invited vulnerability back from the audience when she opened the Q and A section at the end. From the start, Catherine created a link between the physical and mental symptoms of menopause with her cluttered staging of countless supermarket bags filled with lottery tickets. Through various anecdotes Catherine emphasised that getting correct treatment for the menopause is as likely as winning the lottery, something that despite a lifetime tradition her mother never won. The Menopause Lottery was unique in Catherine’s continued reminders of the diversity of the menopause experience, acknowledging that the hormonal shifts can be just as diverse as the people it happens to. The show highlighted the importance of connection between marginalised genders at risk of medical misogyny, even having audience members practise advocating for themselves with Catherine. Through her props Catherine created a visual metaphor for the often ignored relationship between neurodiversity and menopause, lost thoughts to brain fog literally becoming lost items to the many filled bags around her. The delivery of the show gently asked for a patience that felt like a didactic reminder of how to treat people going through the menopause. Overall, the show was informative and invoked reflection within the audience as demonstrated by a lively Q and A wherein others also opened up about their own relationship with the Menopause.

Good News by Adeola Yemitan

Good News playfully takes the question of how far would you go to save your friend’s eternal soul and answers it with kidnapping. With a strong concept, Adeola Yemitan confidently sets the tone of her play by using the Pastor’s sermon as a framing device at the beginning and the end. Bible verses from Revelations and the audience partaking in loud Amens immediately introduce the world of the play and the end of days stakes for the main character (also played by Adeola). The audience becomes the congregation, being directly asked how they would fare in The Rapture, questioning how far you could go for what you believe in. Yemitan’s dialogue is brilliantly quick and hilarious, with not a line wasted. While the concept behind the show could have taken place in any Pentecostal Church, the show is firmly grounded in Croydon culture, from New Life itself to the mention of the Whitgift Centre preachers. The humour and understanding the play offers towards people in this town, with all their complexity aligns so energetically with the Croydonites Festival vision. Yemitan’s portrayal of a girl wanting to do the best for her friend in the only way she has been taught to is both satirical and humanely complex. The show is also still in development and therefore definitely is one to keep an eye on!

This evening of Croydon theatre was admittedly incohesive, but that didn’t matter at all in terms of a fun night out. Both shows knew resoundingly what they were about and were confidently presented. As an audience member, each show engaged us in a variety of ways that meant everyone was a part of the night.

CroydonBuilds was on at The Front Room on the 16^th of October at 7.30.