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Category Archives: Talawa Theatre Company
Pictures on our streets show we need more art in Croydon
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Pablo Picasso said, ‘Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life’, and PETER UNDERWOOD believes that our borough, and its many outstanding arts organisations, could do with a bit more of the dust being washed … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Croydon Greens, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, National Gallery Art On Your Doorstep, Peter Underwood, Poetry, Queens Gardens, Talawa Theatre Company, Turf Projects
Tagged Art, Art On Your Doorstep, Auguste Rodin, Borough of Culture, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, Mayor, National Gallery, National GalleryArt, Pablo Picasso, Peter Underwood, Queens Gardens, Talawa Theatre Company, The BRIT School
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Talawa’s plays in search of an audience: the acts deserve better
KEN TOWL returns to the Fairfield Halls, and is left to wonder where Croydon’s theatre-goers have gone Back to the Fairfield Halls for a second production at the Talawa Theatre in the space of four days. No sooner have they … Continue reading
Amalgam of rap and Shakespeare in search for perfect partner
KEN TOWL reviews a new work of poetry, theatre and dance, performed at the under-used Fairfield Halls’ ‘Wreck’ Anastasia Osei-Kuffour has put together a (mostly) fast-moving everywoman story that tracks a thirtysomething and her search for love in the 21st … Continue reading
15% off tickets for Talawa’s ‘stirring and spiritual’ Love Steps
We’re delighted, in conjunction with the Talawa Theatre at the Fairfield Halls, to be able to offer our loyal readers a terrific money-saving offer on an acclaimed new piece of theatre, Love Steps, that has been described as “stirring and … Continue reading
Talawa star Tanji is nominated for Black British Theatre award
Kibong Tanji, the star of the Fairfield Halls-based Talawa Theatre’s original musical play, Recognition, based around the life and works of Croydon-based composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, has been shortlisted for best female lead actor in this year’s Black British Theatre Awards. … Continue reading
Recognition at last: Coleridge-Taylor gets placed centre stage
The people behind Croydon’s Borough of Culture did not invite Inside Croydon to the press night for the prestigious new production at the Fairfield Halls. KEN TOWL got in anyway At last, we can see where some of the Mayor … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Fairfield Halls, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Music, Talawa Theatre Company, Theatre
Tagged Borough of Culture, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Ken Towl, London, Mayor Jason Perry, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Talawa Theatre Company, This is Croydon
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Mayor Khan reveals brand identity for Borough of Culture 2023
The Mayor of London’s Borough of Culture 2023 has launched its striking look – under the banner of This is Croydon – and is inviting Croydon communities and audiences to get involved. The Borough of Culture is an initiative by … Continue reading
Arts Council announces £4.8m grants to six Croydon groups
Six arts groups in Croydon are to receive a share of a £4.8million Arts Council grant over three years, part of £431.2million funding for arts projects across the capital through to 2026. The Croydon groups that have been awarded funding … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Stanley Halls, Talawa Theatre Company
Tagged Arts Council, Arts Council England, Boundless Theatre, Croydon, Eye Music Trust, Fairfield Halls, Sir Nicholas Serota, South Norwood, Stanley Arts, Stanley Halls, Talawa Theatre Company, Tonya Nelson, Turf Projects, Whitgift Centre, Zoo Co Creative
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£67m arts centre – with no art gallery and few performances
EXCLUSIVE: The Fairfield Halls fiasco gets worse by the day, with Bournemouth-based venue operators BHLive staging shows on just 24% of available dates. Croydon is supposed to be London’s ‘Borough of Culture’ in 2023… By STEVEN DOWNES Croydon is London’s … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Arnhem Gallery, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Mayor of London, Neil Chandler, Oliver Lewis, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Sadiq Khan, Talawa Theatre Company, The Wreck, Theatre, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Ashcroft Theatre, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor, Oliver Lewis, Sadiq Khan, The Wreck, Tony Newman
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Cultural hopes are raised as Talawa and Nick Cave take a bow
Two shows staged at the borough’s major arts centre over the weekend helped to underline how precious the Fairfield Halls should be for Croydon. If only the artistic programme on offer more generally could rise to the local public’s expectations, … Continue reading
Posted in Art, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Fairfield Halls, Music, Talawa Theatre Company, The Wreck
Tagged BHLive, Fairfield Halls, Nick Cave, Talawa Theatre Company, The Wreck
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It’s time to put back the Sparks into Croydon’s Fairfield Halls
For £70m, the Fairfield Halls should be offering a lot more for the community, says KEN TOWL If the Fairfield Halls disappoint, and they do, over and over, it is because they have a lot to live up to. Through … Continue reading
Virus sees council turn Fairfield into a £43m rehearsal space
Our arts correspondent, BELLA BARTOCK, reports on how the council has belatedly come up with a handful of measures to see the Fairfield Halls at least partially come out of its covid-induced ‘hibernation’ A month after the venue management laid … Continue reading
Culture deals with covid-19 without making a song and dance
The sense of doom and gloom caused by the covid-19 pandemic had well and truly taken hold of London by the middle of last week. There was a dark humour about the place reflected by the public address system at … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Cinema, Croydon Bach Choir, Croydon Male Voice Choir, Croydon Philharmonic Choir, David Lean Cinema Campaign, Fairfield Halls, Music, Talawa Theatre Company, Theatre, Theatre Workshop Coulsdon
Tagged Ashcroft Theatre, BHLive, Croydon Council, Croydon Male Voice Choir, David Lean Cinema, Fairfield Halls, London Borough of Croydon, Save the David Lean Campaign, Theatre Workshop Coulsdon
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Fairfield Halls director quits less than six months after opening
EXCLUSIVE: A £42.6m white elephant without its mahout? Our arts correspondent, BELLA BARTOCK, reports on the most dramatic of exits from the Fairfield Halls Neil Chandler has left the building. The Fairfield Halls’ venue and artistic director has left his … Continue reading
160 voices sing Verdi’s Requiem at Croydon’s People’s Palace: with Elton John in the toilets and ‘limited nibbles’ for £15
The Croydon Philharmonic Choir made its long-awaited return to the refurbished Fairfield Halls last night. And so, too, did KEN TOWL When a Croydon re-opening commands the presence of the Mayor of London himself, you know something big is happening. … Continue reading
Black theatre group handed studio space at Fairfield Halls
A renowned black drama group, the Talawa Theatre Company, has been given offices and use of a 200-seat studio theatre at the refurbished Fairfield Halls in Croydon when it reopens in September. The building will enable black artists “to make … Continue reading
