The borough that gave us Stormzy, Tracey Emin and David Lean, Croydon flexes its cultural heft this autumn — with the 10th edition of the Croydonites festival.
From Wednesday 8 October to Saturday 1 November 2025, venues in central Croydon and South Norwood will shimmer with a medley of comedy, theatre, magic and more.
Here are a handful of happenings that've caught our eye:
🪄 Tom Cassani/Norvil & Josephine (Braithwaite Hall, 8 Oct): The festival gets under way with a double bill of double-take-inducing magic, from sleight of hand master Tom Cassani, and comedic, gender-bending sorcerers Norvil & Josephine.
🤸 Simple Cypher: Roll Play (North End, outside Metro Bank, 11 Oct): A free display of artful dexterity from Simple Cypher, an outfit who (literally) roll together circus, comedy and hip hop.
🇦🇷 Sh!t Theatre: Evita Too - Work in Progress (The Front Room, 14 Oct): Sh!t Theatre duo Becca and Louise are back in Croydon for a WIP of their musical, which strives to match that of one Andrew Lloyd Webber — by telling the story of Isabel Perón, the lesser-remembered wife of Juan Domingo Perón. There will also be wizards and perhaps naked rollerskating.
🧂 Selina Thompson: salt : dispersed (David Lean Cinema, 15 Oct): A film screening of Selina Thompson's critically-acclaimed one-woman show, about her journey on a cargo ship, retracing a Transatlantic Slave Triangle en route from the UK to Ghana to Jamaica, and back. The screening is followed by a Q&A with STL Associate Director Toni-Dee Paul and Carolyn Forsyth, CEO of Talawa Theatre Company.
🚂 Tomyumsim Theatre: Trainwreck (Stanley Arts, 28 Oct-1 Nov): Paying tongue-in-cheek homage to Glasgow’s infamous 'immersive' Willy Wonka knockoff and the fiasco-riddled Fyre Festival, Tomyumsim Theatre's Trainwreck is a sharp-sounding satire that bids you on board the 'Stupendous Resplendent Express', where everything is about to go Pete Tong...
Croydonites, 8 October-1 November.
