Hackney Empire is a theatre on

Mare Street Mare Street is a street in the London Borough of Hackney. It has existed since the 15th century, when it was one of the first roads at the centre of the parish. It was then known as ''Merestret''. The word ''mere'' was either the Old English '' ...

, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by

Frank Matcham Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design o ...

it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in London’ it is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.

History

Hackney Empire is a

grade II* listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...

. The theatre was built as a music hall in 1901, designed by the architect

. Architecture scholar Nicholas Pevsner described the "splendid Hackney Empire, with its ornate

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

exterior and sumptuous seventy-seven galleried auditorium" as a key example of Victorian and Edwardian architecture. There is a statue of Thalia, the Greek

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

of comedy, on the roof of the theatre: this was removed in 1979, but later reinstalled. Charlie Chaplin, W. C. Fields,

Stanley Holloway Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in ''My F ...

, Stan Laurel,

Marie Lloyd Matilda Alice Victoria Wood (12 February 1870 – 7 October 1922), professionally known as Marie Lloyd (), was an English music hall singer, comedian and musical theatre actress. She was best known for her performances of songs such as " T ...

and Julie Andrews all performed there, when the Hackney Empire was a music hall. ATV bought the theatre to use as studios in the mid-1950s and shows such as ''

Take Your Pick ''Take Your Pick!'' is a United Kingdom game show originally broadcast by Radio Luxembourg starting in 1952. The show was transferred to television in 1955 with the launch of ITV, where it continued until 1968. It was the first game show broa ...

'' and '' Oh, Boy!'' were broadcast live. Certain episodes of '' Opportunity Knocks'' were also filmed at the theatre. Some scenes from ''

Emergency – Ward 10 ''Emergency Ward 10'' is a British medical soap opera series shown on ITV between 1957 and 1967. Like ''The Grove Family'', a series shown by the BBC between 1954 and 1957, ''Emergency Ward 10'' is considered to be one of British television's ...

'' were also filmed there. From 1963 to 1984, the theatre was used by the Mecca Organisation as a

bingo Bingo or B-I-N-G-O may refer to: Arts and entertainment Gaming * Bingo, a game using a printed card of numbers ** Bingo (British version), a game using a printed card of 15 numbers on three lines; most commonly played in the UK and Ireland ** Bi ...

hall;

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

matches also occurred there during the 1960s. In 1984, Mecca found the building too expensive to maintain as a bingo hall, and it was offered to Cartoon Archetypical Slogan Theatre (CAST), a satirical touring theatre group, headed by Claire and

Roland Muldoon Roland Muldoon was an English Playwright and actor. Life and career Muldoon was born, in between air-raid warnings, in 1941 in Weybridge, Surrey. He left school in 1956 and worked in various jobs, ranging from City clerk to labourer, Brixha ...

, as a London base. They also mounted successful variety nights headlined by a new breed of alternative comedy acts, such as

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Bla ...

, Dawn French, and

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...

. The theatre was threatened with demolition, and in 1986, actor-manager Roland Muldoon mounted a campaign to acquire the freehold and to re-open the Hackney Empire as a permanent performance space; allowing the theatre to return to theatrical use for its 85th anniversary.

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes ( ; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. A Shakespeare interpreter, he excelled onstage at the Royal National Theatre before having further success at the Royal Shak ...

played

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

to Francesca Annis' Gertrude in Jonathan Kent's

Almeida Theatre The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325-seat producing house with an international reputation, which takes its name from the street on which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diver ...

Company production of ''

'', 28 February – 30 March 1995; the production also transferred to the

Belasco Theatre The Belasco Theatre is a Broadway theater at 111 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Originally known as the Stuyvesant Theatre, it was built in 1907 an ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 1996,

mime Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) is an Internet standard that extends the format of email messages to support text in character sets other than ASCII, as well as attachments of audio, video, images, and application programs. Message ...

/choreographer

Lindsay Kemp Lindsay Keith Kemp (3 May 1938British Film Institute entry for Lindsa ...

premiered ''Variété, his first British production in over 20 years, there and '' Slava's Snowshow'', featuring the famous Russian clown

Slava Polunin Vyacheslav Ivanovich “Slava” Polunin PARalternative comedy boom of the 1980s, and remains a venue for comedy. Comedians who have performed at the venue include

Frankie Boyle Francis Martin Patrick Boyle (born 16 August 1972) is a Scottish comedian and writer. He is known for his cynical, surreal, graphic and often controversial sense of humour. A stand-up comedian since 1995, Boyle first gained widespread recogni ...

, Jack Whitehall, Jo Brand, Russell Brand, John Cleese, Jackie Clune,

Greg Davies Gregory Daniel Davies ( ; born 14 May 1968) is a Welsh comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Greg in ''We Are Klang'', Mr Gilbert in ''The Inbetweeners'', Ken Thompson in ''Cuckoo'', the Taskmaster in '' Tas ...

, Felix Dexter,

Harry Enfield Henry Richard Enfield (born 30 May 1961) is an English comedian, actor, writer and director. He is known in particular for his television work, including '' Harry Enfield's Television Programme'' and ''Harry & Paul'', and for the creation and ...

, Craig Ferguson, Dawn French,

Jeremy Hardy Jeremy James Hardy (17 July 19611 February 2019) was an English comedian. Born and raised in Hampshire, Hardy studied at the University of Southampton and began his stand-up career in the 1980s, going on to win the Perrier Comedy Award at the Ed ...

, Lily Savage,

Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in '' The Le ...

Bill Hicks William Melvin Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, satirist, and musician. His material—encompassing a wide range of social issues including religion, politics, and philosophy—wa ...

Harry Hill Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an off-beat, energetic performan ...

Mark Linn-Baker Mark Linn-Baker (born June 17, 1954) is an American actor and director who played Benjy Stone in the film ''My Favorite Year'' and Larry Appleton in the television sitcom '' Perfect Strangers''. Early life and education Mark Linn-Baker was bo ...

, Martha Lewis and Eve Polycarpo,

Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and somet ...

, Arthur Smith, Mark Steel, and

Tim Vine Timothy Mark Vine (born 4 March 1967) is an English comedian, actor, writer, and presenter best known for his one-liners and his role on the sitcom ''Not Going Out'' (2006–2014). He has released a number of stand-up comedy specials and has wr ...

Modern times

Hackney Empire’s artistic programme includes theatre, opera, comedy, dance and music. Hackney Empire collaborate and partner with regional and international companies and artists including the Royal Shakespeare Company,

English Touring Opera English Touring Opera (ETO) is an opera company in the United Kingdom founded in 1979 under the name Opera 80 by the then-existing Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1992 the company changed to its present name. Today it is sponsored in part by Art ...

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish ...

and the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...

. In 2001, the Empire closed for a £17m refurbishment project designed by Tim Ronalds Architects with Carr and Angier acting as theatre consultants. It was reopened in 2004. The restoration included the addition of a 60-seat orchestra pit to make the Empire suitable for opera performances by companies such as

, the addition of a flytower with provision for counterweight flying and a reduction of the stage rake from 1 in 24 to 1 in 30. Among other new facilities were a studio theatre and educational and hospitality facilities, and greatly improved dressing rooms. Additionally, the ''Marie Lloyd'' public house was incorporated into the new extension. In addition to Muldoon, the comedian

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. Rhys Jones came to national attention in the 1980s for h ...

led the restoration appeal, with a large donation coming from local businessman

Alan Sugar Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar (born 24 March 1947) is a British business magnate, media personality, author, politician and political adviser. In 1968, he started what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics com ...

. The theatre received another grant of £400,000 from Arts Council England in 2019 to make building improvements and increase community outreach. '' The John Bishop Show'' was presented and recorded at the Hackney Empire and aired on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

from 30 May 2015 to 18 July 2015. Since 2014,

the British Soap Awards The British Soap Awards (BSAs) are an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom which honours the best moments in British soap operas. The ceremony is televised on ITV and has been presented by Phillip Schofield since 2006. The trophies gi ...

have also been filmed at the Hackney Empire. It has produced

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

s since 1988, providing free tickets to local Housing Associations, Community Groups, local refuges and young carers. Alongside its main-stage programme, Hackney Empire provides performing arts activities for local young people. Its Creative Futures programme works with over 4,000 young people annually, aged 14 – 25, and run a Community Choir that over 80 regular members. The theatre was closed to the public from March 2020 to August 2021. In December 2021, the venue celebrated its 120th birthday with a performance of ''Jack and the Beanstalk''. On 11 June 2022, the theatre was the setting for "The British Soap Awards" televised live on ITV.

Transport

The area is served by bus routes 30, 55,106, 236, 254, 276, 277, 394,D6,W15,N55, N253, N277. The nearest station is

Hackney Central Hackney Central is a sub-district of Hackney in the London Borough of Hackney in London, England and is four miles (6.4 km) northeast of Charing Cross. The Hackney Central area is focused on Mare Street and the retail areas to the north o ...

London Overground London Overground (also known simply as the Overground) is a suburban rail network serving London and its environs. Established in 2007 to take over Silverlink Metro routes, (via archive.org). it now serves a large part of Greater London as w ...

's North London Line. The nearest Tube station,

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By ...

on the central line, is over a mile away.

Patrons

* Harold Pinter (died 2008) *

* Lord Alan Sugar * Leona Lewis

References

External links

Official website

from the

University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

's Theatre Archive * ''Guide to British Theatres 1750–1950'', John Earl and Michael Sell pp. 114 (Theatres Trust, 2000)
Griff Rhys Jones – Hackney Empire – Art and Architecture
* {{Authority control Television studios in London Theatres in the London Borough of Hackney Media and communications in the London Borough of Hackney Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Hackney Former music hall venues in the United Kingdom Former theatres in London Grade II* listed theatres 20th-century architecture in the United Kingdom Hackney, London Hackney Central