COMBO COLLECTIVE
Combo Collective was a company of young theatre makers in Croydon. We met weekly and through discussion, creation, play, and watching and reflecting on theatre, we made performance about the world we live in. We shared these performances at venues and youth events in Croydon. Scroll down to find out more about the shows we made.
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Combo ran from September 2017 to April 2019 and was supported by Croydon Music and Arts, Croydon Council Youth Team and Arts Council England.
Click these to hear text read out loud
COMBO MEMBER
NATALIA, AGED 15
'People don’t always have somewhere to go after school…throughout the week I look forward to coming here…it makes you feel really happy just to come here.'
PARENT FEEDBACK
'Somewhere to go and play every Wednesday for 18 months...My child has really grown in confidence and is more outgoing than before starting Combo, she has been able to do a lot of events where she is able to perform in front of people’ ’
COMBO MEMBER
RASHARN, AGED 15
'Basically a space to express yourself, be who you want to be and do what you want to do. There is a lot of freedom that comes with this, because once you start to open up yourself…there is no judging in this group'
COMBO PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE…
An exhibition of Combo Collective’s work over the past 18 months, about how we’ve explored the issues affecting our world, our community and ourselves. The exhibition begins with a 20 minute gallery, followed by a live autobiographical performance. The development of this piece was supported with a masterclass in autobiographical storytelling with Nick Cassenbaum.
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April 2019
Matthew’s Yard, Croydon
Created with and performed by Kimberley, Blake, Tats, Chardonnay, Sophia, Emily, Maria, Loui, Jaziah and Janae.
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THE VISIT
An adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s 1956 play The Visit, about an enormously wealthy older woman who returns to her former hometown with a dreadful bargain: She wants the townspeople to kill the man who got her pregnant, then jilted her. In exchange, she will provide enough money to revitalise the decrepit town. The townspeople eventually agree.
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November 2018
Children’s Library, Croydon Clocktower
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Created with and performed by Jasmine, Blake, Ifrah, Kimberley, Maria, Sophia, Emily, Tats, Josh and Natalia.
I WON’T EVEN KNOW I’M SWAYING
An autobiographical performance told with movement and spoken word, about altercations on public transport. The piece interrogated how adults view young people and in turn how young people view adults. It explored the experience of witnessing an altercation in public and the responsibility to act. The development of the piece was supported through masterclasses from Movement Artist Rachael Young and Spoken Word Artist Nathan Crossan-Smith.
July 2018
Front Room, Croydon
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Created with and performed by Josh, Natalia, Ellis, Chardonnay, Maria, Emily, Sophia, Tats and Casey.
CAREDOM
A contemporary performance piece told in 2 acts with spoken word, audience interaction and video. Caredom explores the stereotype that teenagers ‘don’t care’. Act 1 explored the reasons teenagers might not care; the difficulties of growing up in Croydon, the pressures of school and a capitalist society which tells everyone to only care about money. Act 2 explores the ways in which they do care about their environment, the future and their close relationships.
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November 2017
Matthew’s Yard, Croydon
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Created with and performed by Tats, Loui, Chardonnay, Natalia, Maria, Sophia, Emily, Josh, Rihanna, and Rasharn.
THEATRE TRIPS
As well as making our own work the Combo Company went on regular theatre trips, with tickets and travel funded by the project, including
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HALF BREED, SOHO THEATRE AT MATTHEW’S YARD CROYDON
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY NATASHA MARSHALL
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THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE, DONMAR WAREHOUSE
NEW ADAPTATION BY DAVID HARROWER
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MISTY, THE BUSH THEATRE AT TRAFALGAR STUDIOS
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY ARINZE KENE
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EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE, THE CRUCIBLE, APOLLO THEATRE WRITTEN BY TOM MACRAE
This project was made possible with support and funding from
