Hackney Empire Closes For Nine Months

Last night's variety show performance was the last until November at the Hackney Empire, which has closed for what management are euphemistically calling a "period of reflection". As we reported last September, the former music hall, which reopened in 2004, has run into choppy financial waters, but despite the doom-laden rumours sloshing through the alleyways of E8 that the closure might be permanent, new CEO Claire Middleton has vowed that the venue will definitely welcome the public in for the annual panto nine months from now. Whether the inviting location can be protected from the rapacious clutches of property developers remains to be seen.