Fancy being a theatrical, musical or literary performer – and then finding yourself doubling up as a theatrical, musical or literary promoter? That’s what accidentally happened to me and my poetry colleague, The Civilised Savage, thanks to Inside Croydon.
I hate musicals, especially those of the “Hey! Let’s put on a show!” kind that seemed to feature Judy Garland or Mickey Rooney, or Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, in the 1930s and 1940s. The whole “Let’s put on a show!” schtick has always struck me as faintly preposterous.
Until now.
Thanks to the Croydonites Fringe, a mate and I have found ourselves having to do exactly that.
For more than a decade, Croydonites has established itself as one of south London’s most distinctive arts festivals. Beginning in 2015 as a celebration of new theatre, it has grown into an annual showcase for performance. And now Croydonites Fringe gives Croydon audiences the chance to see comedy acts, music, cabaret and other on-stage work that might otherwise appear only at festivals such as Edinburgh.
The five-day Fringe began last night and continues the mission of bringing performers from across the country to Croydon, while championing local artists. Which is where we come in.
Stage presence: spoken word performer The Civilised Savage
The Fringe’s open call invited artists and performers to pitch events for venues across the borough. This was published by Inside Croydon and, for some strange reason, we thought that sounded like a good idea.
I’m a journalist and public relations person by trade. During the pandemic, I rediscovered creative writing, something I enjoyed when I was younger, because I just didn’t have enough paying work to do.
A speculative visit to Bring Your Own Bars, or BYOB, at Boxpark introduced me to the world of spoken word and performance poetry – very different from the world of the page. Seven Guinnesses in, getting up and reading a poem seemed like an excellent idea.
The generosity of the audience towards this older, balder, doesn’t-look-like-anyone-else-in-the-room novice was extraordinary. BYOB has since become one of my favourite events, both to attend and to perform at.
Homegrown: Woodzy is n stage at The Oval on Saturday
It was there that I was adopted by The Civilised Savage – like many performance poets, she uses a stage name – and we’ve been working together ever since.
Between us, we came up with the idea for Home Grown, a spoken-word showcase celebrating Croydon’s poets: poetry from the Cronx. It may surprise anyone outside the scene, but the borough is a hotbed of writing talent with some performers making their mark well beyond Croydon.
So we submitted a bid.
In our heads, we assembled a dream line-up of some of the borough’s finest spoken-word performers, wrote the promotional blurb and suggested a few preferred venues. Then we sent everything off. Let’s put on a show!
Then the acceptance email arrived. It told us we had been allocated the much-sought-after prime Saturday night slot at The Oval Tavern on July 4. Panic ensued.
The slight flaw in our planning was that we hadn’t actually asked any of the other poets whether they’d do it. After a frantic round of emails, messages and phone calls, we had what looked suspiciously like a real show.
Homegrown, too: The Secret Feminist is another spoken word performer
Then things became even more real.
There were technical specifications to complete, contracts to sign, copyright warranties to give and all the other paperwork that accompanies even the smallest live production. We were amazed to learn that there might be a few quid in it for the performers if enough people come through the door. Up until then, all of us were just doing it for the craic and for the good of the Cronx.
The show is now just a couple of days away. The PA is sorted. The performers are confirmed. Younger and much savvier people than me are hammering social media. Apart from learning our lines – and emailing The Oval’s Esther Sutton about reserving a few performers’ tables – there is very little left to do.
Homegrown: Tariq Brown is among a ‘stellar’ line-up
The Croydonites Fringe runs until July 5 across venues including Stanley Arts, Studio 55 (in Centrale), The Front Room and The Oval Tavern, bringing a little taste of the Edinburgh Fringe to Croydon, with its very own Cronx spin.
If you’ve never been to a spoken word event before, or don’t even think it’s your thing, give Home Grown a go. It’s local, it’s talented and – unbeknown to you – the line-up is, by any performance poetry standards, pretty stellar.
Hey! Let’s put on a show!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
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