Last night I was lucky to be invited to attend the first performance at this newly refurbished Art Deco era venue in Hoe Street (thanks Gaby!). The launch had been the previous evening, 1st May 2025, featuring a cross section of artists including Alex Horne and the Horne Section, but we were there to watch Natalie Palamides perform 'Weer' a truly inventive piece of theatre on many levels (see more below).
Natalie is not the only star here – the restored theatre is a delight and certainy has that 'wow' factor as you enter the foyer area. Original Art Deco features have been uncovered, enhanced, researched and copied to create an excellent modern theatre.
It had originally opened in the early 1930s as part of Sidney Bernstein's Granada chain and was designed by Cecil Massey who is also responsible for other Granada theatres, specifically the impressive example in Tooting – the panels either side of the auditorium here in Walthamstow echoing the Moorish style he employed for this chain.
The auditorium is stunning. I was surprised to see how large it is. It originally held over 2000 seats but this has been reduced to just under 1000. It's lovely.
My only gripe is the sound levels everywhere. We found the bar area to be horribly noisy – I could barely hear what my friend was saying and our throats were becoming sore from having to shout above the hubbub, so we moved into the auditorium and encountered the same problem of people talking loudly exacerbated/caused by the overly loud music that was playing. Oh and another thing, I noticed that the area twixt bar and access to the Circle seems to have been forgotten as regards interior design – it's just a bland space – we entered it and went back again to check we'd gone the right way because it looks more like a staff only space that out to be off limits to the punters.
But, let's end on a good thing – Walthamstow residents are eligible for cheaper tickets at this venue.
Re the performance – I had no idea what I was going to see. Natalie's performance is very cever, inventive and truly amazing. I like to go to things 'blind' because then I get the full value of the thing without preconception. Find out more info about this show and more at this venue here.
