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Category Archives: Comedy
Dara Ó Briain is a BIG act. Fairfield Halls needs more like him
It was a big night at the Fairfield Halls on Saturday, with Dara Ó Briain, one of the biggest stand-up acts around, performing in front of a full house. KEN TOWL fills in the venue’s audience feedback form The minute … Continue reading
Eagles glory, Mozart magic and Ó Briain’s gags at Fairfield Halls
Fairfield Halls, south London’s sleeping giant of the arts, is waking up to the first half of 2026 with “a vibrant programme” of music, theatre, comedy and culture. Highlights include The Real Thing’s 50th anniversary tour, stand-up from Dara Ó … Continue reading
Posted in Art, BH Live, Comedy, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, Music
Tagged Crystal Palace FC, Dara Ó Briain, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players
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PANTO WARS! Which shows are worth seeing this Christmas
OUTSIDE CROYDON: Ken Towl has reviewed the pantomimes being performed in Croydon and Bromley this festive season. But there’s lots more family shows available across London. Here’s DAVID MORGAN’s suggestions
PANTO WARS! Which is the Beauty? And which is the Beast?
Christmas 2025 has Beauty and the Beast as the seasonal pantomime at the Fairfield Halls. And Beauty and the Beast is also on at the Churchill Theatre, just a short bus ride away in Bromley. Oh yes it is! KEN … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Bromley Council, Churchill Theatre, Comedy, Fairfield Halls, Ken Towl, Music, Theatre
Tagged Ashcroft Theatre, Beauty and the Beast, Churchill Theatre, Croydon, EastEnders, Ellie Dadd, Fairfield Halls, Hi De Hi!, Ken Towl, pantomime, Royal Variety Performance, Samantha Womack, Su Pollard
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By George! She’s Got it! My Fair Lady’s a triumph for Scorziello
FIRST NIGHT REVIEW: The classic Lerner and Loewe musical can be a challenge to stage even for the biggest theatre companies on the West End or Broadway. In Coulsdon this week, the local community centre is staging ‘a lavish, fast-paced show… … Continue reading
TfL offers discounted theatre tickets in 25th birthday giveaway
As the 25th anniversary year of Transport for London approaches an end, the capital’s transport authority has teamed up with Official London Theatre to offer exclusive savings on Theatre Tokens that can make the perfect Christmas gift for an array … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Comedy, Music, TfL, Theatre, Transport
Tagged 25th anniversary, Christmas, Official London Theatre, TfL, Transport for London, West End
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Oh yes she is! Victorian dancer who became a pantomime star
CROYDON CHRONICLES: One of the great British traditions of this time of year is the family visit to the theatre, or to a church hall for the local am-dram performance, during pantomime season. DAVID MORGAN traces the career of Caroline … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Comedy, Dance, David Morgan, Fairfield Halls, History, Music, Stanley Halls, Theatre
Tagged Caroline Parkes, Charles Fenton, Croydon, Croydon Chronicles, Crystal Palace, David Morgan, Dick Whittington, Fairfield Halls, Panto, pantomime, Sanderstead Dramatic Club, Stanley Halls, The Brothers Grinn, Theatre Royal
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It’s the final countdown as Rowland reflects on our mortality
KEN TOWL considers Plato, kingfishers and Ian McKellen’s balls in an hour-long Croydonites Festival performance which could never over-run James Rowland is dead. Well, sort of. The end was inevitable. The digital clock at the back of the stage counted … Continue reading
READER OFFER: Half-price tickets for Croydonites comedy
The Croydonites Festival is offering Inside Croydon readers half-price tickets – while seats are available – for one of its headline acts: James Rowland Dies at the End of the Show. With a cheeky poster that almost got Inside Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Art, Comedy, Croydonites Festival, The Front Room
Tagged Comedy, Croydon, Croydonites, Croydonites Festival, Reader offer, St George's Walk, The Front Room
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Croydonites provides a front-row seat for hard-hitting comedy
The 2025 Croydonites Festival is well underway, and KEN TOWL could not resist the chance to go along to see the sold-old Dick’s Picks (geddit?!) Dick Denham had been tasked with curating a range of comedians for a night of … Continue reading
Now wouldn’t that be loverly?! My Fair Lady comes to Coulsdon
Some of the best-known and most-loved show tunes ever written are about to be dusted off and performed with suitable gusto, as My Fair Lady is brought to the stage of the Coulsdon Community Centre this December. Possibly one of … Continue reading
Trustees bring down final curtain on the Crystal Palace Festival
After almost 20 years, the Crystal Palace Festival is no more. The largely volunteer-led summer festival of music, comedy and arts, was first staged in 2006, by traders in the Upper Norwood Triangle. At its peak, thousands would attend various … Continue reading
Skibabble open mic night at The Front Room, next up: Oct 7
S U B S C R I B E R A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Posted in Activities, Art, Comedy, Music, Poetry, St George's Walk, The Front Room
Tagged Comedy, Music, Poetry, Skibabble, St George's Walk, The Front Room
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The Croydonites Festival looks more edgy than just the fringe
This year’s Croydonites Festival opens on October 8, marking 10 years of supporting local artists and bringing high-quality performances to Croydon. Croydonites’ artistic director Anna Arthur says the festival’s mission “is to identify and nurture local theatre and performance makers through … Continue reading
Pregnant with vulnerability, Gwilliam sets the scene for festival
KEN TOWL ventured deep into an abandoned building site while full of hopeful expectation for a workshop performance ahead of the 2025 Croydonites Fringe I had seen Amy Gwilliam’s evil alter-ego, property developer Frankie Foxtone, deliver a corruscating satire on … Continue reading
Live at His Majesty’s! Sign up for stage school’s free auditions
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Posted in Activities, Comedy, Dance, Education, Music, Theatre
Tagged His Majesty's Theatre, Pauline Quirke Academy, PQA, Selhurst
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We had all better keep a look out for whatever Katie does next
The play that takes its title from Bowie’s dismissal of the town where he went to art school is nearing the end of its run. KEN TOWL took the chance to glimpse at the brilliance of the one-woman show at … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Comedy, Ken Towl, Stanley Halls, Theatre
Tagged Croydon, David Bowie, Edinburgh Fringe, Katie Hurley, Ken Towl, Stanley Halls, You're So F**king Croydon
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Croydon’s Ace designer just misses making her TV finale
Last night’s Interior Design Masters with Alan Carr proved to be the last appearance for a Croydon-born contestant who had wowed the judges in previous episodes. By STEVEN DOWNES Sometimes, even when you lose, you win. Briony Ace’s phone has been … Continue reading
Posted in Art, BRIT School, Business, Comedy, Schools
Tagged Alan Carr, BBC Television, Briony Ace, Brit School, Interior Design Masters, Surrey, The BRIT School
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Hurley’s Bowie-inspired one-woman show is coming home
Katie Hurley’s hit show from last year’s Edinburgh Fringe is finally coming home. The co-producer of the annual Croydonites Festival wrote and starred in her one-woman show at the world’s biggest fringe festival last summer, where You’re So F**king Croydon! … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Comedy, Inside Croydon, Raye, Stanley Halls, Theatre, Under The Flyover
Tagged #SoEffingCroydon, Croydon College, Croydon College of Art, Croydonites, David Bowie, Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Katie Hurley, So Fucking Croydon, Stanley Halls, Under The Flyover, You're So F**king Croydon
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Fairfield panto star Mia Overfield picks up national stage award
Mia Overfield, star of the Fairfield Halls’ 2024-2025 panto, Snow White and the Five Dwarves, has been named as the winner of the Barbara Windsor Award for Best Principal Lead at this year’s National Pantomime Awards. Overfield, who has a … Continue reading
Instant comedy classics as Longhurst ‘creates’ Croydon history
With the help of AI and a bit of PhotoShop, one Croydon creative has made an entire online library of fake “histories”, all about Croydon – from the glory days of the Whitgift Centre, to circus elephants on George Street, … Continue reading
Star performance by Scorziello brings true anarchy to Coulsdon
Our veteran theatre critic, BELLA BARTOCK, slips into her kitten heels and puts on her pearls for a big night out in Coulsdon, where the performances on stage were truly electric I was quite taken by surprise when the doorbell … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Comedy, Coulsdon, Theatre, Theatre Workshop Coulsdon
Tagged Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Adam Ribeiro, Coulsdon, Coulsdon Community Centre, Dario Fo, Hannah Montgomery, Indianna Scorziello, Joe Wilson, Lauren Edmonds, Metropolitan Police, The Maniac, Theatre Workshop Coulsdon, TWC, Zack Hall
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Comedy satire brings Croydon Labour vote fraud to the stage
You’ve seen Inside Croydon: The Movie (and if you haven’t, why not?). Now comes a comedy satire on stage, which the playwrights say they have based on Inside Croydon’s reporting, which was “incredibly insightful” and “a source of comedic and … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Comedy, Croydon East, David Evans, Inside Croydon, Theatre
Tagged Croydon, Croydon East, Labour, London, Paratroopers, The Lion and Unicorn Theatre
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