Woodford Nt Outing to Hackney Empire Date to Be Arranged

The date for this visit is still to be confirmed
Hackney Empire
Meet at the Hackney Empire, 291 Mare St, London E8 1EJ. Nearest station (a 5-minute walk): Hackney Central (London Overground Mildmay Line -- change from Central Line to platforms 1-2 at Stratford).This iconic Victorian music hall opened its doors on 9 December 1901 and has been thrilling audiences ever since. The theatre is a prominent feature of Hackney High Road ever since and has featured the likes of Charlie Chaplin, W.C. Fields, Stanley Holloway, Stan Laurel, Houdini, Marie Lloyd, Julie Andrews, Louis Armstrong. It survived the bombs of WWII when in 1943 there was a bombing raid on London. The alert sounded as a Tightrope Act was in the middle of his performance. The audience stayed in their seats and undeterred by the noise of the bombs and the shrapnel falling on the roof, the Tightrope Walker completed his act!
In 2001 it closed for three years while a 17 million restoration programme to place which has brought it back to the spectacular glory of its heyday.
We have a 90-minute guided tour where you will be able to stand on the stage where the great names have performed, any maybe give a little performance of your own... We will then be treated to tea/coffee as desired. Members with mobility issues will be able to visit most of the theatre, but not the two upper tiers.
Our visit is dependent on the theatre's schedule of programmes so details of date and time will be circulated when the tour is confirmed.
Cost: 16.00
Organiser: Malcolm Bell