Hackney Empire Theatre, Hackney, London

I visited the Hackney Empire a couple of months ago and I have to say I was very unimpressed by the experience. The building is special and the décor is impressive. It also has an interesting history – it was formerly a Victorian Music Hall. However I was sitting on the first balcony and the acoustics were terrible. There was a bar behind where I was sitting, where people were drinking and chatting throughout the performance. This would not have been a problem, expect that the noise that they were making seemed to be amplified where I was sitting. The seats were also hard and uncomfortable. In an effort to be able to see and hear better we decided to move to different seats in the interval, However the acoustics there were even worse – you couldn’t hear anything of the music on the stage – so we moved back to our old seats. Definitely not recommended.

The Hackney Empire is such an amazing place, the theatre is beautiful, high standing amphitheatre, royal boxes, golds and reds ever so extravagant looking. I have been to see several shows at the Empire and went to see Cinderella there last xmas. It was such a let down for me.

Although the show was great, and one of the prettiest I have seen in a long time and to be honest it would be unfair of me to give bad feedback because of this one time experience. However I felt very strongly about what happened that evening and need to share because I do think that the Empire isnt built for children shows/ panto’s..

The people visiting the show (families), the staff and the management was a let down on that evening. They were allowing people to shift about, move chairs and enter the theatre even after curtains were down and the play had started.

This caused major distraction and ruined our evening at the Empire. I do not at all say that all shows will be the same, however strongly recommend that Empire is avoided when children shows are on as it is not built to be utilised in that way.

Have only been here once but it is such a lovely old theatre, would love to go again. The auditorium itself is beautiful, we sat up on the side but the view was fine, not restricted at all. The staff were all really friendly, which is not always the case in these places, and very helpful. There are a couple of bars from which you can bring your drink into the auditorium - always a bonus. And the toilets were modern and clean. Beware of parking in the area. We just stopped by the town hall to jump out and pick up the parking permit and ended up with a cctv issued ticket - even though I was waiting in the driver seat all along and we were in a layby!

Hackney Empire is a great theatre, in comparison to other theatres I have been to, its probably in my top three. Been there to see stand up comedy shows, dance shows, talent shows and plays. And it was well organised and no problems at all. The stage is a decent size as well and so is the theatre its self. The seating arrangments has three levels I think but obviously the third level is the worst seats, would not recommend them to anyone as you will be literally be looking right on top of performances meaning you will be stearing literally at their foreheads.

Anyway Hackney empire gets 4 stars from me it is definately one of Hackneys Gems.

This is an amzingly suprising theatre. It looks nice but a bit pokey from the outside, but when you get in the auditorium is HUGE! It has 3 balconies and the stalls, and is stunningly done up.
They do a great variety of shows with a fairly high turnover, so if you keep an eye on whats coming up there is bound to be something you’ll enjoy. It is also famous for it Christmas panto, so if your going to a pantomime at christmas, then this would be a good one to check out…..