Hackney Empire is 125 this year, and the first ten months of its anniversary programme are now public: a new opera by Renell Shaw, the return of Ballet Black, a Talawa gala and the annual pantomime are among the highlights, with an Open House weekend to begin the celebrations.
Hackney Empire has published the first half of a 16-month programme marking its 125th anniversary, and the celebrations begin this weekend. The East London theatre, which opened in 1901, will hold an Open House on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 September, when visitors may walk the building, drop in to meet its chief executive, Chris Sudworth, and see Hackney Empire: 125 Iconic Years, a new exhibition installed in the foyer.
The exhibition was assembled by professional and young researchers working with the theatre's staff. It follows the building from its music hall and variety years, through the decades when it served as a Mecca Bingo hall and the campaign of the 1980s that returned it to theatre use, to the New Variety era and the founding of Creative Futures, the venue's programme for young people.
Several productions are announced for the first time. Yasuke is a new opera by Renell Shaw, an Ivor Novello Award winner and a graduate of Creative Futures. Ballet Black returns with Unbound, a triple bill in which Olivier Award winner Isabela Coracy appears in Nina: By Whatever Means. Also new to the programme are Punk Days, from Hassan Mahamdallie and Stef O'Driscoll, and Amina Khayyam's Bibi Rukiya's Reckless Daughter, a dance-theatre piece drawn from Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba.
Talawa will celebrate its own 40th anniversary with a gala on Tuesday 13 October 2026. Josette Bushell-Mingo OBE, Tameka Empson, David Webber, Laurence Ubong Williams, Doña Croll and the Chineke! Orchestra are among those taking part.
The season proper opens on Thursday 8 October, when Theatre Re, the company led by Hackney-based director Guillaume Pigé, brings The Nature of Forgetting back to London on a 10th anniversary tour; the production has now given more than 200 performances worldwide. ACE Dance and Music follows on Tuesday 20 October with The World As We See It, a double bill of work by choreographers Serge Aime Coulibaly and Vincent Matsoe.
The autumn ends with the Empire's pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, from Saturday 21 November to Thursday 31 December. As reported when the full cast was announced, Clive Rowe directs and plays Dame Trot, and Kat B reaches a 21st Empire pantomime as Simple Simon Trot. The run takes the theatre through its 125th birthday in December, and further anniversary additions are promised.
Looking to 2027, February brings the next edition of the Alter Ego showcase for new talent. In July, Hackney Empire will produce the world premiere of Nanny of the Maroons with the Belgrade Theatre, co-produced with tiata fahodzi. Corey Campbell and Justine Themen co-direct the piece, which tells the true story of Queen Nanny, the 18th-century Jamaican freedom fighter, through music, dance, drama, folklore and magical realism.
The spring also brings four productions from English Touring Opera: Gluck's Orpheus & Eurydice, Langer's Ariadne, Purcell's Dido & Aeneas and Puccini's Tosca. They sit alongside the dance production The Brown Suite and the world premiere of Emily Levy's REST from City of London Sinfonia.
The season offers considerably more access performances than before, with BSL-interpreted, audio-described, captioned and relaxed shows, and introduces the venue's first development residencies for professional artists: a week of visual-theatre training with Theatre Re and a Producer Boot Camp run by In Good Company.
"Hackney Empire's 125th anniversary is an extraordinary opportunity to celebrate everything this theatre has meant to artists, audiences and communities over the past 125 years – but just as importantly, to engage with what it can mean for current and future generations," said Sudworth. "Further co-productions for 2027 will be announced soon."
The theatre has also secured support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for development work ahead of future building works, including consultation with audiences and the local community and research into the venue's history. Creative Futures, which offers free opportunities to young people aged 14-25, reaches its own 25th anniversary in 2027, and its Young Producers and Young Researchers strands are open for sign-up now. More partnerships and co-productions are due to be announced in late November.
Tickets for Jack and the Beanstalk at Hackney Empire are on sale now.
