CODA, the Croydon Operatic and Dramatic Association, make a proud return to central Croydon next month, when they perform Agatha Christie’s gripping courtroom drama Witness for the Prosecution at the Braithwaite Hall on Katharine Street.

Bob Dann cross examines Jane Kortlandt at the Barithwaite Hall in CODA’s Witness for the Prosecution

CODA’s acclaimed productions have been forced away from Croydon in recent times, through cost and lack of availability of suitable venues, so this return to Braithwaite Halls marks an important pointer in the revival of the local cultural scene, coming in the same month when the Save the David Lean Cinema Campaign will be celebrating the first anniversary of the re-opening of the art house cinema next door in the Clocktower.

It will be the first time for 15 years since CODA performed in the Braithwaite Hall.

CODA’s Witness for the Prosecution stars Bob Dann as Sir Wilfrid Robarts, Owen Moore as Leonard Vole, and Jane Kortlandt as Romaine, with a full supporting cast. The production is directed by Michael Hall.

At the Old Bailey, a young man stands accused of murder, and only the advocacy of his famed defence barrister can clear him. Circumstantial evidence piles up against Vole, until the Prosecution produce their star witness – Leonard Vole’s glamorous wife, Romaine.

Twists unfold, secrets are unearthed and tension mounts, until the key question is asked: “Do you find the defendant guilty, or not guilty?” Of course, this being Agatha Christie, the verdict is only the beginning…

CODA was founded in 1943, and is Croydon’s leading community theatre company, performing both musicals and plays, to a professional standard. Recently, CODA has performed acclaimed versions of The Graduate, Abigail’s Party, Fame the Musical, West Side Story and Side by Side by Sondheim, alongside concerts and Old Time Music Halls. Most recently, CODA have produced hugely popular productions of The Railway Children and The Wind in the Willows at the Charles Cryer Theatre in Carshalton.

Witness for the Prosecution runs from Thursday April 23 to Sunday April 26 at the Braithwaite Hall, Croydon Clocktower, Katharine Street, Croydon, with evening performances on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7.45pm and matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2.30pm.

• Tickets cost £14 for adults and £12 for all concessions, and may be booked at www.codashows.co.uk, or by calling 07858 879 019

• ---

  Inside Croydon: Named among best regional media campaigns, 2014.

• Croydon’s only independent news source, based in the heart of the borough: 729,297 page views in 2014.

• If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, a residents’ or business association or local event, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com