Comedy venue goes dark amid cash crisis

Hackney Empire, the East London music hall that’s home to many comedy shows, is to close for at least nine months amid severe financial woes.

The 108-year-old theatre will go dark from January, maintaining only a skeleton staff, with the rest to be made redundant.

The Victorian venue only reopened in 2004 after a three-year £17million facelift following the last threat to its future. The campaign was led by Griff Rhys-Jones and backed by Alan Sugar to the tune of £1.3 million

Simon Thomsett, artistic director and chief executive, left his post last month to be replaced by Claire Middleton, who was originally bought in as a troubleshooter by the Arts Council.

She told theatre industry newspaper The Stage: ‘The idea is that we stop, take a breath, and take stock of the way the organisation operates. We just need a little time to do that.’

Artistic activity will be ‘substantially reduced’ during the closure, and it is not known how that will affect the respected New Act Of The Year comedy competition. In previous years, heats have been held in alternative venues while the theatre and bar were refurbished.

The theatre opened in 1901 and has hosted Charlie Chaplin, WC Fields, Stan Laurel and Marie Lloyd – and more recently has become home for many regular black comedy nights.

Published: 24 Sep 2009