“A Bad Day For The Critics”: Overhauled Fairfield Halls Makes Triumphant Return

The evening of Monday 23^rd September 2019 turned out to be a historic one for many of those Living In Croydon, as the iconic Fairfield Halls arts center was formally reopened after several years undergoing a multimillion-pound refurbishment. 

The venue in Park Lane is now once more open to the public, enabling it to add to its remarkable story since the 1960s that has seen it host such famous acts as The Beatles, The Who, Stevie Wonder, Queen and many more.

Council leader in buoyant mood

The leader of Croydon Council, Tony Newman, perhaps summed up the atmosphere of the night with his declaration that the celebrated arts, entertainment and conference centre opening its doors again marked “a bad day for the naysayers that said this would never happen.”

The Labour councillor added: “The Fairfield is back.” These words, however, were far from the only interesting ones uttered on a night that represented the latest step forward for Croydon as it continues to transform into an enviable destination for the finest of the arts in London.

Dame Judi and Michael Billington remember Dame Peggy 

The evening kicked off, in fact, with a much-anticipated question-and-answer session with Dame Judi Dench, who reopened the Ashcroft Playhouse – formerly known as the Ashcroft Theatre – in honour of her late friend, the Croydon-born actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft.

Dame Judi said that she preferred the new playhouse name for the theatre, while Michael Billington, who wrote Dame Peggy’s biography said to the audience that he felt the actress deserved to be commemorated with a blue plaque in Croydon.

He argued: “We haven’t enforced enough of her Croydoness, she said she remembered Croydon as a quiet market town and she loved the fact it bordered the countryside.”

Even the London Mayor was in attendance

Following the Q&A event, London Mayor Sadiq Khan unveiled a plaque commemorating the occasion of Fairfield Halls’ reopening, while the keys were handed from Croydon Council to the organisation that now manages the venue, BH Live. 

With a new public space called Fair Field set to be created as part of the next phase of the revamp of this popular part of Croydon, it’s fair to say that those living in Croydon will have plenty to look forward to in the months and years ahead, besides the arts centre’s actual events and performances.

If you would like to become one of those residents, you can take the first step to making this a reality when you register your interest in one of ISLAND’s penthouses or apartments online today. Why risk missing out on the all-too-rare chance of a genuinely attainable London skyline lifestyle, complete with access to such world-leading venues as Fairfield Halls?

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Created on Nov 6th 2019 00:45. Viewed 305 times.

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