Category Archives: Talawa Theatre Company

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

Posted in Art, Fairfield Halls, Talawa Theatre Company, The Wreck, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, Mayor of London, Music, Sadiq Khan, Talawa Theatre Company, Turf Projects | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

£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 , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

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 , , , , | 6 Comments

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

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Fairfield Halls, Music, Savvy Theatre Company, Talawa Theatre Company | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

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

Posted in Art, BH Live, Dance, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, Music, Oliver Lewis, Savvy Theatre Company, Talawa Theatre Company, The Wreck | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Croydon BID, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, Neil Chandler, Talawa Theatre Company, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

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

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon Philharmonic Choir, Fairfield Halls, Ken Towl, London Mozart Players, Music, Savvy Theatre, Savvy Theatre Company, Talawa Theatre Company | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

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

Posted in Arnhem Gallery, Art, BH Live, Fairfield Halls, Savvy Theatre Company, Talawa Theatre Company | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment